Hyperdimension Multiverser
by Anime PJ
Summary: I loved the Neptunia games when I was a human. They were delightfully entertaining, as well as containing some pretty good eye candy. Now that I can hop into any universe I like, I figured, why the hell not? So, accompanied by a companion from another universe, I, Dexter Verser, am about to make my mark on the world of Gamindustri. [UNDERGOING REWRITES!]
1. When a Goddess Falls

**I knew I was going to do a _Neptunia_ story the second I was accepted into the Multiversers. Not only do I want at least one story that's mostly comedy in content, but the opportunities for Dex's Multidimensional harem were too good to pass up.**

 **I should probably warn you that, as a Multiverser, Dex is likely to come off as a Gary Stu. He's OP and something of a womaniser (well, he's actually bi, but considering the lack of likeable male characters in these games, that's unlikely to come into play in this particular story). You have been warned.**

 **I also suggest that you check out the other Multiversers: VindictiveDunc, Hero of the Multiverse, ****BioshockerN7** **, Multiverser Kronos, RealmOfEmptiness, Crazy Cakes 23, ZenithBloodedge, and ****Fanboy of the Multiverse** **. Trust me, you won't regret it, they're all awesome. That, and everything'll make a lot more sense if you read the other Multiverser stories.**

 **Another warning: violence, strong language, and lemons abound!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN _HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA_ OR ANY OF THE FRANCHISES THAT MAY BE MENTIONED! _HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA_ IS THE PROPERTY OF COMPILE HEART AND IDEA FACTORY! PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE!**

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

 _ **Voice Cast (how I envision characters being voiced, will mostly remain the same for canon characters)**_

* * *

 _ **Dexter Verser = Susan Dalian (think her voice for Haku from**_ **Naruto _but with a more English accent)_**

 _ **Chieko = Naomie Harris (think Eve Moneypenny from**_ **Skyfall** ** _and_ SPECTRE _, or Selena from_ 28 Days Later _)_**

 _ **Neptune/Purple Heart = Melissa Fahn**_

 _ **Compa = Cristina Vee**_

 _ **Histoire = Stephanie Sheh**_

* * *

 **BGMs**

 **[Your Lie in April] Hikaru Nara (English Cover by S.B.R.M.P.N.Y) – Sapphire (on YouTube)**

 **Bleach OST - Comical World**

 **Thor OST - Sons of Odin**

* * *

 **Chapter One: When a Goddess Falls**

* * *

 _ **Dexter Verser's POV**_

* * *

Gamindustri.

As far as fantasy worlds go, it's pretty unique. I mean, how many fantasy worlds can you think of that are meant as metaphors for the "console war" between the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii? The nations of Leanbox, Lastation, and Lowee were a pretty good way of representing the whole ordeal. Then there's Planeptune, which is based on the Sega Neptune (a console of which I had never heard before playing the _Neptunia_ games for the first time). None of these nations would be complete, however, without their goddesses; or CPUs, as they called them in this world.

I'm sure that by now you've realised I'm not exactly the usual citizen of Gamindustri. My name's Dexter Verser, nice to meet you, and while I used to be an ordinary English teenager, these days I'm a Multiverser. A being gifted with Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence. We use these abilities to travel to worlds we once knew as fiction and make reality our bitch. Immortality had its kinks, but it was a good gig, overall.

Anyway, I decided that one of the worlds I'd be going to would be Gamindustri. It's not just for the fit as fuck CPUs, I swear … mostly.

Look, it's not **my** fault that James Adams and Captain Kirk have had a rather large effect on my sexual appetite!

{Y'know, since it was **you** who decided that literally **becoming** us was a good idea, it kinda is your fault} came the very Chris Pine-like voice of James Tiberius Kirk from the recesses of my mind.

I'm going to have to explain this, too, aren't I?

You see, Multiversers can actively take the place of people if they so choose. The process involves going to the moment when said person was conceived and simply replacing them with myself. They didn't cease to exist, though; instead, they become aspects of my mind, and, as such, their personalities tend to rub off on me. Case in point: the sexual appetites of some of them affect my own.

 _Shut the fuck up, Jim,_ I mentally said to the captain of the Starship Enterprise.

Anyway, are we all caught up now? Good. Explaining things has never really been my strong suit.

I wasn't going to be doing the whole replacement thing this time around. Though I'll admit, it's mostly because all of the male characters in the _Neptunia_ games are either idiots, villains, or generally unlikeable. I generally go for the replacement option when it's available because I have a fascination with the way the mind works that borders on slightly obsessive at times. I just consider taking on someone's role a good way of seeing how their head works, is all. I haven't taken in any of the more psychotic individuals in the Multiverse yet, but there are a few that have tempted me. But for this particular world, I was going in as myself.

Due to this, I arrived shortly before the story started …

* * *

 _ **Virtua Forest, Night**_

I leaned against a tree as casually as I could afford, given the mobs that populated this forest. They weren't a threat in any way, sense, or form, at least to me, but they were still **really** fucking irritating to deal with. I was waiting for Neptune to fall from the sky. I knew that this was the night she was cast down to this forest, losing all her memories in the process, and I wanted to be there when it happened. What better way to become part of events than being there when the self-proclaimed "protagonist of protagonists" makes her dramatic entrance?

I know it may seem a bit malicious that I was intending on letting her fall from the sky and impale herself head-first into the ground, but in my defence, something that was that important to kick off the plot was something that I knew to leave alone. And hey, it's not like I was planning on **leaving** her there. My plan was to get her out, wait for Compa to show up, get her to Compa's house so she could be taken care of, and then take part in Neptune's efforts to gain her memories back. The fact that I was going to be interacting with four beautiful goddesses and many other attractive women was just a **really** nice bonus.

{A gentleman after my own heart} said Barnabas Collins.

 _And that's the attitude that got you turned into a vampire,_ I reminded him. _At least when it was me doing it, Angelique only turned me into a vampire because I **asked** her to. Being locked underground for a hundred and ninety-six years was still boring as fuck. Good thing I still existed in other universes, huh?_

It'd be best not to ask about that. My time as Barnabas in _Dark Shadows_ was … odd, to say the least.

{It also helps that we had the company of Josette} said Barnabas.

{Yeah, but the size of that coffin made sex kinda hard} said Kirk.

 _Okay, shut the fuck up, **all** of you. When I took you guys in, it was to gain an understanding of how your minds work. I might have thought twice if I knew how bloody sex-obsessed you are!_

I then blocked my mind off from hearing my mental roommates for the time being. I had grown rather attached to those guys over the years, and I appreciated their company at times, but there were also times when they made me want to try shaving my pubic hairs with a chainsaw. That wasn't a very nice feeling to have, I'm sure you can imagine, so it was nice to have a break every now and then.

"Any idea how much longer we have to wait?" asked Chieko. She was a beautiful, dark-skinned woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She had mid-length, wavy, azure-coloured hair, small, bright purple eyes, and a very curvy body with G-cup breasts. She wore her usual attire of a tight-fitting blue and white dress. Chieko was my weapon, a little something I picked up from my time as a Meister in the _Soul Eater_ universe. She's also one of my many wives.

"Shouldn't be long now, love," I assured her. "It's the middle of the night. Just keep an eye out for a shooting star that's coming unusually close to the ground." I looked over at her and saw her shivering. "You cold?"

"A little."

"Come here."

She moved closer to me, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around my chest and hummed in appreciation. I kissed her on the top of the head, never taking my eyes from the night sky. It was no small strain on my concentration to have her body pressed against me, let me tell you. _The things I do for love._

"It's a bit odd to think that, right now, four goddesses are kicking the shit out of each other," I mused aloud. "You'd think something like that would shake the foundations of the world they rule over, but it's so … **calm**."

"At least until one of them gets propelled right to the ground," said Chieko. She looked at me with a curious look on her face. "By the way, which outcome are you hoping for?"

"The True Ending."

"Huh. You mean the one they **called** the True Ending but is non-canon to the rest of the series?"

"That'll be the one. I'm interested in seeing how it'll affect the world around me. Plus, out of the lot, it's the only ending which ends the Console War. I get to help redeem the bad guy and stop the war that's been going on for centuries that has basically no point to it. Sounds like a good deal to me."

Chieko chuckled. "And that's why I love you, always aiming for the best possible outcome."

"Don't get me wrong, I'll still kill Arfoire's ass if redeeming her becomes a problem. I'd just rather avoid that outcome." Something flashed in the night sky, catching my attention. "I think it's time."

"Finally."

It really did look like a shooting star from all the way down here. Except that this particular shooting star was being fired down through the atmosphere and was on a direct collision path with Virtua Forest. I watched as the light grew closer and closer, unworried, for I knew Neptune was going to survive the fall. Her being on fire from the fall really didn't surprise me, as she **was** being flung down all the way from Celestia itself. I watched as she got closer and closer to the ground, until …

 _ **CRASH!**_

Neptune slammed into the ground, somehow not making a shockwave but still forming a crater around herself, and her head embedded itself in the ground like the sword in the stone from Arthurian legend. She even stayed upright, rigid as a board.

"Masterful jump, but a little fuzzy on the landing. She may have to settle for the bronze," I said.

"I don't think that's physically possible," said Chieko, eyeing Neptune's rather bizarre state.

"Love, the normal rules of physics mean absolutely **nowt** here," I said. "Anyway, now we just wait for Compa." I thought about it. "Eh, sod it. I'll at the very least get her out of the ground first."

I took my arm from around Chieko's shoulders, and she released me from her hugging arms. I walked over to Neptune's rigid form and stood there awkwardly for a few moments. _Where the bloody hell can I grab that won't make me look creepy?_ I asked myself. After a few moments of deliberation, I bent down and grabbed hold of her shoulders, then I pulled upwards. It was easy enough to accomplish with my immense strength, and soon I had Neptune laid out on the ground, still very much unconscious. That was pretty understandable, given the circumstances.

She was pretty cute. Her shoulder-length, bright purple hair that stuck out at the sides and had those two D-pad hair-clips on either side looked rather adorable. I knew that beneath those closed eyelids were a pair of dark purple eyes. She wore some kind of white, blue, and purple hoodie-dress hybrid, a silver choker around her neck, a pair of blue and white striped stockings, and a pair of exaggeratedly large purple and white shoes. I could tell from looking at her that she was an A-cup and that she was around 4'8 in height, despite physically being in her late teens.

"Kinda hard to believe that this is the goddess ruler of Planeptune," said Chieko.

"Just wait till you see her Purple Heart form," I said. "Then you'll believe it a hell of a lot more."

"… You just want to see it 'cause you think she's hot, don't you?"

"I will neither confirm or deny that accusation."

"That's a yes, then."

Now it was simply a case of waiting around for Compa to turn up. We had only arrived here recently, so I was still a little unsure of the geography of the place, otherwise, I might have started moving her toward Compa's house and simply hoped we ran into her on the way. As it stood, though, it was waiting for Compa or nothing. It helped that I was also really looking forward to meeting Compa.

We didn't have to wait long. Say what you want about Compa's ditziness and clumsiness, she certainly wasn't a slacker.

She was about 5'1 in height, so still significantly shorter than myself. Those E-cup breasts didn't escape my sight, either. Even without taking into account her obvious sex appeal, Compa was really quite beautiful. She had long, light, congo-pink hair with eyes that matched perfectly and a face that practically radiated innocent kindness. She wore a tan-white wool sleeveless top, with matching arm-warmers (which I guess are a type of sleeves, but since they weren't actually attached to the top, I don't think they count). She wore a red plaid skirt and black-brown knee socks with pink frills on her lower half. She wore a black choker with a small pink heart, a black headband, and a black hip purse, all of which carried the logo for Compile Heart, the developers of the _Neptunia_ games.

 _They've got to have quite the ego if they included a character to represent their own company,_ I thought idly. Out loud I said, "Hello there. You couldn't help us, could you? This girl – and I know this sounds mental – fell from the sky. I can't tell, but after a fall like that, she's probably hurt. You don't have anywhere we could set her down, do you?"

"Don't worry, I saw her falling from my house," Compa said in that all too innocent voice of hers. "We can take her there." She leaned down to pick up Neptune. "My name's Compa, by the way."

"I'm Dexter," I said. I bent down, too. "Don't worry, I've got her. You just lead the way." I picked Neptune up bridal style.

"I'm Chieko," said Chieko.

"It's nice to meet you," said Compa with a smile so radiant it practically lit up the night. "It's this way." She started walking, and Chieko and I followed her. Neptune was very light, given her small size.

Things went quiet after that. It was awkward, and I really didn't like awkward silences, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. Unfortunately, the first thing that popped into my head was inspired by the personalities of my more sexually active mental roommates.

"I've gotta say, Compa, you are fit as **fuck**."

As you can probably imagine, that only made things more awkward.

* * *

 **(Play "[Your Lie in April] Hikaru Nara (English Cover by S.B.R.M.P.N.Y)" by Sapphire (on YouTube))**

 **Opening Instrumentals**

The camera sweeps over the four nations of Gamindustri: Planeptune, Lastation, Leanbox, and Lowee. The landscape is breathtaking, the very image of utopia for the people living in each.

 **Hyperdimension Multiverser**

The scene changes to an image of Dexter Verser's smiling face.

 **Just like a rainbow, bright and warm**

 **After a hazy summer storm**

 **Flowers blooming fresh with drops of dew**

Chieko, Neptune, Compa, and IF are standing together behind him with equally large smiles on their faces. Neptune throws an arm over IF's shoulder, who angrily shoves her off. Chieko and Compa laugh happily.

 **Watching you stare into the sky**

 **In the crimson sunlight**

 **That's when I fell in love with you**

The scene changes to the Basilicom for Lastation. Noire is standing in her office with an irritated look on her face. Her Black Heart persona is superimposed over the top of her.

 **Each moment in a picture frame**

 **I'm holding on**

 **No single shot will ever fade**

The scene changes to the Leanbox Basilicom. Vert is in her office, smiling happily as she stares, transfixed, at a computer screen. Her Green Heart persona is superimposed over the top of her.

 **The movie of this love**

 **Every part deep within my soul**

The scene changes to the Lowee Basilicom. Blanc is sitting her her chair, a book in her lap, smiling contentedly. Her White Heart persona is superimposed over the top of her.

The scene changes to all the characters seen so far doing battle against a large robotic creature.

 **You are the spark, my light in the dark**

 **Brilliant and bold through the night**

 **Bright as the sun, no matter what comes**

 **We can be stars if we shine**

The grinning image of Arfoire watches on as the fight continues. Behind her is another unmistakable female figure, shrouded in shadows, but with red eyes glaring out at all the females involved in the fight.

 **Don't ever hide those feelings inside**

 **Whenever you're sad or you're blue**

 **When you can't cope, don't ever lose hope**

 **The stars shine their light over you**

The scene changes to a lone woman with long, dark blue hair, red eyes with power symbols in them, plenty of curves, and bright blue armour. She grins at the camera with a determined expression on her face.

 **Every wish we've made has brought us here together**

 **Till forever**

 **Underneath the stars and the moon and the sun, we look to the future as one**

The camera zooms out, revealing that the woman is accompanied by Purple Heart, Black Heart, White Heart, and Green Heart, all of them standing in a line and smiling.

The scene fades to black. The woman's red eyes linger for a moment, then vanish.

 **(End "[Your Lie in April] Hikaru Nara (English Cover by S.B.R.M.P.N.Y)" by Sapphire (on YouTube))**

* * *

 _ **Third Person POV**_

* * *

 _ **Compa's House, Afternoon**_

Neptune's head throbbed with pain as she woke up, which wouldn't have surprised her if she knew what had happened the night before. All she could remember was the black abyss she had been in, and that strange, soft voice that had spoken to her – Histoire, didn't she say her name was? And now here she was, waking up in …

The ringing of an alarm clock rang in her ears.

"Shuuuuuut … up!" she groaned out. She raised her hand and brought it down on where she thought the offending sound was coming from. There was a strange **thump** noise. "Oh, shoot! Did I break something?" She opened her eyes at last and saw what she was pretty sure was the pinkest bedroom in existence. It had all the stuff you'd expect to find in a bedroom (well, maybe not the giant syringe leaning against the wall, that was a new one on her) but it was all … **pink**. "Wait … Where am I?"

The door of the bedroom opened and Compa walked in. "Oh, you're up," she said happily. "Good mornin', sleepy head! Well, actually, good afternoon!"

"Is she up?" Dexter's voice came through the door. He walked straight on in, knowing that everyone was decent, as they had left Neptune as he had found her. He looked to be in his twenties and stood at around 5'10. He had pale skin that was strangely smooth, like a woman's. His hair was black, mid-length, and slicked back, with a few streaks of bright blue going through it. His eyes were light blue. His ears were also slightly pointed. On his head was a wide-rimmed black Stetson and around his neck hung a piece of black cloth with white patterns that normally acted as a mask he wore over his mouth. He had a black leather trench coat, a dark brown hooded shirt underneath, a red vest under that (the buttons on the coat being undone, and the top few on the hooded shirt being undone to reveal the red vest). On his legs were a pair of black trousers, and on his feet, he wore a basic pair of brown shoes. In his opinion, he looked rather badass. His clothes hugged his not-exactly-masculine body tightly, leaving nothing to the imagination - he was slim but athletic, with a thin waist and wide hips. His legs, hugged tightly by the trousers, were incredibly pronounced, adding to the ambiguity of his gender (if not for the fact that the tightness of his clothes also left certain parts of his anatomy very visible), and his ass was round, firm, and thick. His nails were also painted black.

Neptune didn't know whether she was looking at a man or a woman.

Chieko entered the room behind him and smiled at Neptune. "Good to see she isn't dead," she said.

"Um, this isn't my room, is it?" asked Neptune in confusion. She chose to ignore the fact that Compa clearly blushed in embarrassment when Dexter (not that she knew his name at the moment) walked in. "Is it any of yours? And why am I tucked snugly in?"

"Three excellent questions," said Dexter.

"Well, it was just last night …" said Compa. "I saw a shooting star! That was you."

"I think she was more a falling star than anything," said Chieko.

"That was a short answer," Neptune said in a deadpan. "Wait … That means I fell from the sky!?"

"That you did, love," said Dexter. "Looked like you were burning up in the atmosphere and everything. Thinking on that, what the bloody hell are your clothes made of? Even if you weren't burnt, you were still on **fire** , something should've gotten damaged."

"Wasn't it you who said the laws of physics don't really apply here?" asked Chieko.

Dexter shrugged. "Fair enough. I was just asking."

"From what Dexter told me, you were stuck in the ground like soul-sword … only, it was you," said Compa.

"Soul-sword?" asked Neptune. "You mean Soul E***? Wasn't it the Excalibur that was stuck?"

"No, actually," said Dexter. "While that is a common misconception, the sword King Arthur pulled from the stone was actually a completely different sword from the one – known as the famous Excalibur – that he wielded later in his life." While talking, he amusedly noted that the world itself seemed to bleep out their references to copyrighted material. He wondered if he was going to have any problems with that. "The movie _Quest For Camelot_ made the same mistake … and that was a **really** shitty movie."

"Huh … well, the more you know," said Neptune.

"Anywho, you were out cold, so Dexter pulled you out and carried you here to my house," said Compa.

"Ooh, you mean I got to be in the arms of a big, strong hero-type?" Neptune asked enthusiastically. "That's awesome. Like I was the fallen heroine in a tragic adventure story … Okay, it sounds less awesome when I think about it like that. Anyway, thanks a bunch … Dexter, was it?"

"Dex if you prefer," said Dexter. "Dexter Verser, at your service. But I shouldn't take all the credit. Compa gave you a look over to make sure everything was all right."

"I go to nursing school, so that's just part of my job," Compa said, blushing.

"And you continue to be a real hit with the ladies," Chieko said, grinning at Dexter. She looked at Neptune. "My name's Chieko, by the way."

"I'm Neptune! Thank you all for saving me! Hope we can all be friends!"

"Knowing him," Chieko gestured to Dexter with her head, "we'll all be a lot more than that."

"Don't go saying shit like that!" Dexter exclaimed. "You know full well that I don't do it on purpose! Don't go making me look like some kinda sexual deviant!"

"To be fair, you did flirt with me almost the second we met," Compa threw in.

"That silence was awkward and I could think of nowt else to say!" He quickly realised his mistake and made to remedy it. "Not that you're not attractive, Compa, 'cause you **really** are. I'm just sorry for making you uncomfortable at all."

"There's no need to apologise. Yes, it was embarrassing, but it was flattering, too." Compa said all of this with a fluorescent blush on her face, but she wasn't having trouble speaking like she was earlier, so Dexter took that as a good sign.

{You're well in there, mate} said James Adams.

 _Shut your gob,_ Dexter thought to him.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Nept— Nepee— Nepta— Nepel … Neput …" Compa said, struggling to pronounce Neptune's name. It was rather humorous to watch, but nobody was mean enough to say so out loud.

"Neptuna, Nep-Nep, Nepper, it doesn't matter," Neptune said nonchalantly. "You can call me anything!"

"Okay, then!" said Compa. "How about Nep-Nep? It's nice to meet you, Nep-Nep!"

"I'll just stick with Nep," said Dexter.

"And I'll call her Neptune, because I don't struggle to pronounce it, and nor am I lazy," said Chieko.

"I'm **not** lazy!" Dexter snapped at her, whereas Compa blushed in embarrassment and said nothing in her defence. "I save energy by refusing to partake in unnecessary activities!"

"I noticed you're all bruised," Compa said to Neptune. "Allow me to take a quick look."

"Yeah, I am kinda scraped up, huh?" said Neptune. "Strange, I feel like I got sandbagged … Ah, but I'm only scraped, so it must be my imagination!"

 _Actually, three goddesses just kicked the hell out of you after being lied to by a megalomaniac with giant tits who wants to take over Gamindustri and kill you and the other CPUs,_ Dexter was very tempted to say but held his tongue. It was sometimes remarkably tempting to say things like that, but it was best if he didn't let on that he knew a lot more than he should. He didn't think he'd have a problem revealing what he is to the people he would end up adventuring with, considering that four (more, after awhile) of them were literal goddesses, but it was best not to go into that sort of thing too early.

"Okay, so let's first get those clothes off you," Compa said to Neptune.

"And that's our cue to leave," said Chieko, grabbing Dexter's hand and pulling him out of the room. Dexter went willingly enough, but he had to fight several of his mental roommates for control of his legs, as a lot of them were eager to stay and watch. Dexter would have none of it. He and Chieko left the room and left Compa to tend to Neptune.

* * *

 _ **Dexter Verser's POV**_

* * *

After I successfully managed to fight off my mental roommates and leave the room – with Chieko's help – I felt a lot better, even though I had several disgruntled perverts groaning in disappointment in my head. _Shut the hell up, you twats,_ I told them. I like taking in mental roommates, it has a lot of relevance to my interest in the workings of the mind, but with that being said, I occasionally had reason to regret taking in certain individuals. This was one of those moments.

"Okay!" Nep's overly chipper voice, slightly muffled, came through the closed door. "Taking my clothes off …"

The mental image that invoked wasn't unpleasant, but I still felt bad for picturing it.

"She's awfully calm about getting undressed in front of another person," said Chieko.

"Give it a mo'," I said.

"Wait!" Nep exclaimed. "Why do I have to go nude!? I don't need to make myself more powerful!"

"… This girl's just a walking reference, isn't she?" Chieko asked me.

"Reference **and** walking fourth wall break," I said. "There's a reason I told you Deadpool would be right at home here."

"Sorry I ever doubted it."

"I can't bandage you with your clothes on," said Compa. "No need to be shy now."

"Well, I get that, but …" Something about Nep's shy voice just sounded so … **wrong**. She was one of the most hyperactive protagonists I'd ever seen in a game, and hearing her sound in any way insecure just wasn't right.

"Okay, here comes the wrap," said Compa. I could hear the shuffling of the bandages. "This way … that way … loop it over …"

 **(Play "Bleach OST - Comical World")**

"Nrrgh!" Nep grunted in distress. "H-Hold on! Can you make it a bit loose? It's getting tigh—"

"You don't want it loose or you'll trip! Just be patient now."

"Urgh! I can't … breath. My back! Ahhhh—! Ah …"

"Nep-Nep? Are you okay!? Please, come back! Nep-Nep? Nep-Nep!?"

Struggling not to laugh at the situation, I knocked on the door of the room. "Is she covered up enough that it's safe for one of us to help out?" I asked through the door. "Sounds like you're in a bit of a pickle."

"Yes, please!" Compa called out. "I put the bandages on too tight! She's not breathing! Ooh, why do they only ever let us practice on dummies …? She might need CPR!"

{ **DO IT!** } the vast majority of my mental roommates shouted at me. {Just **do** it!}

 _Okay, you Shia Labeouf wannabes, keep your knickers on,_ I told them irritably. I pushed the door open and walked into the room, and the sight that greeted me made me stand at attention (in every way possible). Nep was basically naked, with the only thing covering her modesty being the bandages that Compa had wrapped so tightly around her, leaving nothing to the imagination. This sort of thing may have been mindless fan service in the game, but in real life, it was a lot more effective at its job. A quick whack to the back of the head by Chieko got me to focus on the matter at hand, and while most people would have complained, I nodded my thanks to her.

"All right, what do you need us to do?" I asked Compa as I walked over to the bed, where Nep was very much unconscious.

"She's not breathing," Compa informed us again. "I'm going to loosen up the bandages a little, but I need one of you to perform CPR. Do either of you know how to do that?"

"Yes," I said, before really even thinking about it. I briefly reflected on how new this situation was. In the game, it just kind of cut to Nep being awake again after Compa had resuscitated her. Still, I wasn't complaining.

Chieko snorted laughter. "Spoke up pretty quickly there, didn't you?"

"I don't care for what you're implying. Anyway, we should hurry." I bent down over Nep, placing my face in front of hers. I took a deep breath, overlapped my lips over Nep's, and blew air into her. I took a moment to notice how soft her lips were. I separated from her, put my hands over each other on her chest, and pressed down three times. Then I repeated the process. It took three repeats of this before she started breathing again. _Crisis averted,_ I thought in relief. I couldn't help but find this odd, though. Maybe it was just because they skipped over all this in the game? Yeah, that was probably it. The game just skipped from her going unconscious to her waking up again.

 **(End "Bleach OST - Comical World")**

"Th-That was close …" Nep said after she had finally regained her breath. "I was just an inch away from entering the light … Hey, was someone kissing me?"

"I had to do CPR whilst Compa loosened the bandages," I admitted instantly. "I swear that there were no ill intentions." _On my part, anyway,_ I added mentally. I really was only trying to help out; my mental roommates, on the other hand, were being a bunch of dirty fuckers.

"Wow …" Nep was blushing bright red. "I don't know whether to feel violated or giggle like a school girl who got kissed by the local hottie."

"… I really don't know how to take that, so I think we'd best move on."

"Good idea," said Chieko. "I'm sure Compa's eager to try and kill Neptune again."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad …" Compa said, pouting. "I only made the wrap a wee bit tight."

"Really?" asked Nep, incredulous. "I was wrapped tighter than some huge, fighting mummy …"

"So, um, why did Nep-Nep come from the sky and get stuck into the ground?" asked Compa.

"I … don't know … I don't remember anything before coming here …"

"I can't say I'm surprised," said Chieko. "Impaling oneself face-first into the ground is bound to cause a few brain injuries. Actually, that'd explain a lot."

I creased a little in laughter.

"Hey!" Nep snapped. "Stop making fun of me!"

"Nep-Nep," said Compa, "maybe you're suffering from amnesia."

"Really? Well, I guess so."

"I'd like to help, but I don't have anything to cure amnesia …"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Compa. No need to get yourself down over it."

"But …"

"Compa, you've done a bloody good job so far," I said. "You're clearly a very gifted nurse. Don't beat yourself up because you can't cure something I'm pretty sure **nobody** has found a definite cure for yet." I made a mental note to ask one of the other Multiversers if any of us has come up with an actual cure for amnesia. Considering all the science done on Terra Infinitas, it really wouldn't surprise me.

Compa blushed a little and nodded.

"I'm hungry," Nep said suddenly. "Do you have any food I could eat?"

"Food?" Compa thought about it. "Well, I don't have much, but how about some pudding?"

I started to get excited. The pudding Compa made was quite the admired thing in the games, and I was looking forward to trying it and seeing if the taste lived up to what was built up in the games. I didn't think it'd compare to the eternal godliness that is pizza, mind you, but I never expected anything to be quite that good.

"Pudding?" Nep asked. "Um, what's a pudding?"

"Well, where I'm from, it's just our word for 'dessert,'" I said. "Then there's black pudding, which is basically just curdled pigs' blood … not so sure why that's so popular back home, but hey ho."

"I think you should be quiet," Chieko told me.

" **Me**? Be **quiet**?" I asked, looking at her like she'd gone mad. "What madness are you suggesting, woman?"

"You seem to forget that I have one of the greatest powers that a woman can have over a man." She got closer to me so that she could whisper the next part. "I have the power to deny you sex."

I shut up.

"Anyway," Compa said awkwardly now that the exchange had ended. "You don't know what pudding is, Nep-Nep?"

"Nope, never heard of it," said Nep. "Does it taste good?"

"Just a minute. Let me bring one …" She turned to us. "Would you two like some, too?"

"Yes, please," said Chieko.

I simply nodded. Chieko's threat had successfully rendered me silent.

In mere moments, Compa had left the room and returned with three bowls of yellow, slightly cake-looking stuff. I think it might have been custard-based, but as one who had only ever known pudding as another word for dessert, I wasn't a hundred percent sure of the accuracy of my thoughts. Either way, it certainly looked appetising.

"Hmm …" Nep hummed. "So this yellow thing is a pudding?" She poked it with the spoon provided and it shook a little. "Whoa! It wiggles when you poke it!"

"Nep-Nep … did you lose memory of food, too?" Compa asked in concern.

"That would've been absolutely tragic," I said. "I mean, imagine not knowing what pizza is …" I shuddered just thinking about it. "That would be a dark, dark world indeed …"

"You lot and your pizza obsession …" Chieko muttered under her breath. I simply grinned.

"… I remember 'cake' and stuff, so I guess I really don't know what this is," said Nep. "Well, here I go!" She chomped down on the pudding she had on her spoon.

Deciding it was time to see if this stuff was anywhere near as good as the people in-game seemed to think it was, I picked up some on my own spoon and took a bite. I was instantly blown away. The flavour, the texture, the consistency … Compa really was one **hell** of a cook! This pudding was absolutely delicious! (Though, as expected, it didn't nearly match up to pizza. **PRAISE BE UNTO THE ITALIAN WHO CREATED SUCH GLORIOUSNESS!** )

"Compa," I said after swallowing the pudding. "I may just have to take you home to live with me if it means getting more of this stuff. This pudding is **amazing**."

"He's not wrong," said Chieko. Her bowl was completely empty already. As dignified as she liked people to think she was, the woman could eat like a hoover when it came to sweets. "This is some of the best pudding I've ever had." She quickly covered her mouth to keep a small belch from slipping out. She flushed with embarrassment. "Pardon me."

"The tantalising sweetness melts away on my tongue!" Nep exclaimed with delight, having swallowed a spoonful of the stuff. "This is the best!"

"Really …?" Compa asked us all with a sweet smile and a happy flush.

"Really!" Nep said. "This has got to have been made by the finest chef in the world! Where can I get more?"

"Actually, Dex and Chieko are right. I made it myself."

"Amazing … Compa, you are a genius …"

"Oh, stop teasing me, you guys!" Despite her protests, the look on Compa's face was one of pure happiness. "Wait a minute. Let me get more!"

"You should stop making offers like that, Compa, or else we're gonna end up eating you out of house and home," I said. "Then I really **will** have to take you home with me! And believe me, that's not something I'd mind very much!"

That was the second time I managed to turn Compa's face a healthy shade of red. She left the room to get more pudding.

"You're some kinda classy ladies' man, aren't ya?" Nep asked me with a grin.

"And a man's man sometimes," Chieko threw in.

"It's not like I actively set out to do it!" I protested weakly. "I guess it's just … in my nature or some shit like that."

"Uh huh, sure thing, buddy," said Nep, patting me on the back.

"Don't get cheeky with me, you strangely adorable troll!"

"Hey, you'd **know** if I was trying to troll you. Believe me."

Chieko just stood there laughing at us. It wasn't long before Compa got back with more pudding, bringing one for herself this time, and we started chatting over our food again. It was nice.

* * *

"Your homemade pudding was a blast, Compa!" said Nep once we'd eaten everything Compa had brought up. She, of course, had scoffed most of it down herself. There was something rather adorable about the content smile on her face.

"I feel kinda bloated now," I said. "But I just couldn't stop eating … Damn, Compa, that stuff was **good**."

"Compliments to the chef," said Chieko.

"I'm happy you all liked it," Compa said, positively beaming. "By the way, what are you going to do now, Nep-Nep?"

"Well," said Nep, "I want to know what happened, so I'll go back to where I was found."

"Shouldn't be too difficult," I said. "Just have to track down the little hole with the shape of your face in it. Chieko and I should be able to get you there fine." I glanced at Compa. I needed her with us for any of this to go as it did in the games. "You wanna come along, Compa? This has all been very interesting so far, I wouldn't want you to miss any of the details."

"I'd be a pretty bad nurse if I didn't stick by my patient until she's better," said Compa. "Of course I'll come with you."

"Quite the merry band of adventurers we've got here," said Chieko.

"Yeah, the Fellowship of the Massive Fuck-Off Syringe," I said, eyeing Compa's weapon of choice as it leaned against the wall. "Compa, out of curiosity, do you ever use that thing to deliver a normal injection? 'Cause that shit looks like it'd **hurt**."

"No, silly," said Compa, laughing a little. "That's just in case I have to fight off any monsters when I'm out."

That was good to know.

* * *

 _ **Planeptune, Afternoon**_

I could tell why they called it "the land of purple progress" the second I laid eyes on it. All of the buildings were pristine and white like they had all been built a mere day before. It was very much akin to one of those utopia-like cities you get in some science fiction works. The sun shone off the place so brightly that it was nearly blinding. In short: the place was beautiful.

It was actually kind of hard to think that Nep ruled over this place …

"Wow!" Nep exclaimed, looking around with stars in her eyes. "This place is huge! So, guys, what's this city called?"

"This is Planeptune," said Compa. "It's a city that Lady Purple Heart presides over."

"She's clearly done a bloody good job," I said, marvelling slightly at the place. I'd seen a lot of futuristic cities, but none quite this pristine. "This place is amazing."

Nep's face went slightly red. "Why do I feel so flattered all of a sudden …?" she thought aloud. She shook her head. "Why does the name Planeptune sound so familiar …?"

"It sounds like your name, Nep-Nep," said Compa.

"Except Compa can pronounce it," said Chieko.

"Oh, don't be mean, Chieko," I scolded her lightly, a good-hearted smile on my face. I paused for a moment. "Though … there's a good point. Compa, how is it you can pronounce 'Planeptune' but not 'Neptune'?"

Compa gave a small shrug. "I don't know. Planeptune comes to me just fine, but saying Nep-Nep's real name is hard for some reason."

"So, where are we going again?" asked Nep. "Should I bring something with me?"

"We're heading into Virtua Forest," I told her. "It'd probably be best to bring some kind of weapon, though there's no need for anything too drastic. The monsters that inhabit that forest are about as weak as monsters can get."

Nep hummed. "Wait a sec …" She walked over to a nearby bin and practically jumped into it face-first. From where I was standing, I could see her white and light blue striped panties. I could feel my face heat up and I wanted to avert my gaze, but I found that I couldn't. The view _was_ rather nice …

"Nep-Nep, what are you doing rummaging through the garbage?" asked Compa.

"Impersonating a trash panda," I said in a deadpan.

"Trying to flash Dexter," said Chieko.

"I think, given the position, she'd be more likely trying to flash all three of us."

"Look what I found, guys!" Nep said once she'd done rummaging through the bin. She was waving a shaped stick in the air energetically. "A sword! Well, it's made of wood, but hey, it's a sword!"

"I see that," said Compa, "but what are you going to use that for, Nep-Nep?"

"Um … LARPing?"

"The only LARPing Dexter does is in the bedro—"

"And that's enough of that!" I said, cutting off Chieko with no remorse. I had been here for about a day at most, there was no way I was going to have Chieko spouting things off about my sex life to these people. "Anyway, Nep, that should be more than enough to handle the piss-easy job we're doing. Now that everyone's ready, let's get moving."

"What about you and Chieko?" asked Compa. "How are you planning to fight if we run into any monsters?"

Chieko and I both grinned at her. "Wait and see," we said together.

* * *

 _ **Virtua Forest, Afternoon**_

"So," said Nep, "I guess this is where I was elegantly lodged into the ground, right?"

"'Elegant' is one way to put it …" I muttered, then cleared my throat. "Sticking out of the ground like some kind of fleshy totem pole is another way. Anyway, no, not quite. You were a little farther in."

"But there are monsters all over the place now," Compa pointed out.

"Monsters?" Nep tilted her head. "You mean that blue, dog-like, jelly thingy over there?"

True to her words, there was a very bizarre-looking monster nearby that hadn't spotted us yet. It looked a lot like a big, dark blue dog head made of some sort of jelly. They were called Dogoos if I remember correctly.

"They certainly weren't here last night," said Chieko.

"No," I agreed. "I'd've remembered having to partake in a little pest control."

"Um, this world has monsters all over the place like any RPG, right?" said Nep.

"Not really," said Compa. "They just popped out of nowhere over the last few years."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," said Chieko, "but isn't that normally some kind of indicator of the end times?"

"Apocalypse via big, bouncing dog heads," I mused. "I think if that's enough to destroy the world, then the entire species is probably too stupid to live, anyway."

"Enough of all the talk!" Nep exclaimed suddenly. "Now let's go on and get some XP while we're at it!"

"Nep-Nep, what's the matter?" asked Compa. "You seem excited."

"Well, I'm the heroine, right?" said Nep. "So I gotta beat up some monsters, I figured."

"I guess so, but … can you really fight?"

"I have my trusty sword (wood) and skills with me. It'll be a piece of cake!"

"And like that you've doomed us all," I said.

"Um, let me get this out …" Compa pulled that giant needle of hers out of what I can only assume was Hammerspace, as she **definitely** hadn't had that with her up until this point. The sheer size of it made me gulp a little, remembering all those injections I'd had when I was a human.

"Wha—!?" Nep's eyes were wide and startled. "Compa, what's with that huge syringe!? Wait! Where'd that come from!?"

"I already said back at the house that I use it to fight," said Compa. "Where it came from? Well, that's a Compa secret …"

"Um, my imagination of where it came from can't explain the 'how' …"

"Tell me about it …" I said, only to receive a hit to the back of the head from Chieko.

"Mind out of the gutter, Dexter," she scolded me. "We're here for a reason, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it …"

"You do know how cliché it is to carry a huge weapon, right?" Nep asked Compa. "If you were a man, I'd accuse you of trying to compensate for something!"

"That's nitty-gritty info," said Compa. "Let's just beat the nasties and go on."

We started walking in the direction of the place where Nep crash-landed the night before, which also happened to be in the direction of the Dogoo. _Ain't that convenient?_ I thought sarcastically.

" _Nraaah …_ "

"Okay, that is officially the most un-dog-like noise I've ever heard come out of something that looks like a dog," I said.

"It sounds more like a dog dying than it does an actual dog," said Chieko.

"Yay!" Nep exclaimed. "My first monster! Hey, guys, I just need to beat him up, right?"

"Yes," said Compa. "The Dogoos are cute, but they are bad monsters, so we can beat them up."

"Okay then! Let's get this battle tutorial over with!"

As luck would have it, another Dogoo rocked up to the scene. Admittedly, they **were** kind of cute, but they were also really weird. The fact that they tried to kill any humans they came across really made fighting them a lot easier.

Compa went first, surprisingly, thrusting at one of them with her gigantic syringe. It didn't kill it, but the whimpering sound that it made told me that that fucking **hurt**. Fortunately for the Dogoo, Nep wasn't far behind with her wooden sword, and with a few swings, she had beaten the thing to death (which caused it to vanish into thin air in typical video game fashion).

I set my sights on the second Dogoo and grinned. I held out my hand for Chieko to take it, which she did. Then, in a few short seconds, I was holding a double-ended sword with a black hilt and two azure-coloured blades. It was somewhat like the lightsaber of Darth Maul, except an actual sword. I gripped the hilt with both hands and swung one of the two blades at the remaining Dogoo. The sword cut across its face, causing it to whimper. It tried to bash me, but I jumped backwards. I then swung with the other blade, cutting the Dogoo again and causing it to vanish.

"Whoo!" Nep cheered. "Nice one, Dexy!"

"Thank you," I said. Then a pause. "… 'Dexy'?"

Nep shrugged. "Seemed as good a nickname as any."

"Dex, where's Chieko?" asked Compa.

[Right here] the voice of Chieko resounded from my sword. Nep and Compa jumped, wide-eyed and startled. Chieko chuckled. [It's always fun to see people's faces when they hear me talk like this.]

"On that, I agree wholeheartedly," I said.

"Wait, wait, wait," said Nep, her face covered with both awe and confusion. "So … Chieko's a sword?"

"Yep," I said.

"That's **awesome**!"

[Isn't it?]

Compa looked so dumbfounded that I actually started to feel a bit sorry for her. "Don't gimme that face, Compa," I said. "The physics here are about as consistent as pigeon shit on Trafalgar Square. Is this **really** the most perplexing thing you've ever seen?"

"… I guess not," she conceded. She paused for a moment. "… What's Trafalgar Square?"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter."

[So, Neptune, how was the fighting?] asked Chieko. [Has that head injury gotten in the way of your fighting ability?]

"Oh, ha-ha," Nep said sarcastically. "And nope, I've got this shit down! A little practice, and I'll be an expert!"

"Well, there's a lot more where those Dogoos came from," said Compa, "so we can train a bit more."

"Sounds like a plan!"

{Why does Neptune's enthusiasm for battle make me think she's going to turn out a psychopath?} Chieko asked me through a mental link.

 _Hey, she could've turned out worse,_ I thought back. _She could've ended up like Plutia and Iris Heart._

{… Good point.}

Moving on, we encountered another two Dogoos, one of which Compa dispatched of with a surprising brutality. She impaled it on her giant syringe and then yanked upwards, allowing the needle to rip its way through the Dogoo and out through the top of its head, leaving a massive gash there for the split second before it vanished into thin air.

So surprised was I by the brutality of that act that I barely even registered Nep beating the other one to death with her wooden sword.

"Holy **shit** , Compa!" I said, wide-eyed. I had seen more brutal things before, but **never** from a character who radiated as much innocence as Compa did. "Bloody hell, where did **that** come from?"

"What?" she asked in confusion. "I did it quickly. That Dogoo barely felt a thing."

"You're probably right, but **fuck** , that was brutal."

I'm not going to bore you by telling you of every random encounter we had with a Dogoo or two, but I won't skip all the fighting completely. Especially considering the fact that the next monster we encountered had the slightly disturbing appearance of a big orange flower with arms and legs growing from its stem. These were called Tulips if I remember correctly. They looked slightly adorable in the game, but there was something rather discomforting about them in real life.

Nep and Compa took on the Dogoos. I slashed at the Tulip with Chieko but the creepy bastard ducked out of the way. It kicked at me with the legs on the bottom of its stem, but I barely felt a thing. I swung Chieko downward, and this time the Tulip wasn't able to dodge. I cut it right down the middle, and if it hadn't immediately vanished, I'm convinced it would've fallen to the floor in two thin halves.

Making our way through the forest was basically idle chatter intermixed with the occasional fight with either Dogoos, Tulips, or both at the same time. Neither of those monsters posed a threat to us, so it was actually rather boring.

"Well, this is it," I said when we reached the area Nep had landed the night before. I pointed at the relatively small hole in the ground. "That's where your pretty little head was lodged."

"Wow … this is a huge hole right here …" said Nep.

Oh yeah, we were standing in the crater she'd made with her landing. I had almost forgotten about that in favour of focusing on her breaking all the laws of physics.

"Nep-Nep, does this make you remember anything?" asked Compa.

Nep hummed in thought.

"Um, Nep-Nep?"

Nep continued to hum, much more aggressively. She was clearly racking her brain as far as it could go. "Ah—!" she said, clearly frustrated. "I can't remember a thing! Dexy, are you sure I was stuck here?"

"Unless there's another girl who fell from the sky and got stuck in the ground, standing like a post, then yeah, I'm pretty sure this is where you landed," I said.

"Like a shooting star, cutting through the night, right?"

"If shooting starts were physically able to fall to the ground, yeah."

"There could be a clue somewhere around here," said Compa. "Nep-Nep, did you lose anything by chance? Maybe an ID or anything?"

[Because asking the girl with amnesia if she's lost anything makes so much sense] said Chieko.

"Yeah, that was kind of a stupid question, Comp— wait!" Nep's eyes widened dramatically. "I **do** remember something I'm missing!"

"Really!?" Compa exclaimed, overjoyed. "What is it?"

"Well, that's obvious …"

"Obvious …?"

" **My memory**!"

I burst out laughing without being able to stop myself. To meet a girl who was able to encompass this level of sarcasm was truly a gift from the Multiverse. Nep seemed rather pleased that I was laughing, but then looked at Compa in confusion. Compa wasn't laughing.

"Um …" Nep said awkwardly. "Wasn't that … funny …?"

"I don't think now is the time to be fooling around …" said Compa.

"Wait, what!? I thought you were joking when you asked me if I remembered!"

"Joking aside, let's look for some clues."

"Never put joking aside," I said. "If you're too serious, you'll start seeing things that aren't there. Like how Simon Pegg's character in _Hot Fuzz_ took his job so seriously that he started seeing murders everywhere … He turned out to be right, of course, but that's hardly relevant."

[You know they've never seen any of these movies you keep mentioning, right?] said Chieko.

"I'll show them to 'em eventually," I said. "Now, then, should we get to wo—"

I was interrupted by a crumbling sound.

 _Oh,_ I thought. _Right … that's about to happen …_

"What's that sound?" asked Compa.

"I have a bad feeling about this …" said Nep.

"Okay, Little Miss _Star Wars_ ," I muttered.

Then the ground completely gave out beneath us, sending us tumbling into the darkness of the caverns below the forest. Nep and Compa screamed. I stayed calm.

* * *

 _ **Third Person POV**_

* * *

"Ouch …" Neptune said once they'd landed. "I didn't expect that. They really changed the story with this remake …"

While Dexter had already suspected so from the moment he'd entered the world, it was nice to have actual confirmation that these were the events of _Re;Birth1_. Anyway, that meant he knew what was coming next, and so he pretended to be unconscious. There was no actual danger for either Neptune or Compa, and if he started fighting the Guard Vermin when it showed up, Neptune likely wouldn't regain her CPU form, which might fuck up the plot somewhat. So Dexter remained face-down in the dirt (not a pleasant experience).

"Wait a minute …" Neptune looked at Dexter, then darted her eyes around worriedly. "There's Dexy … but where's Compa? Compa—! Where are you? Are you all right!?"

Compa stood up from the dirt a little way away. "Y-Yessy …" she said, slightly weakly. "I think I'm okay."

"Whew … It would've been a disaster if you lost your memory, too." She bent down and laid a hand on Dexter's shoulder, shaking him in an attempt to wake him up. He didn't budge (he was a very good faker). "Wow, Dexy's really out of it … and I think Chieko is, too … Wait, can swords get knocked out?"

Chieko laughed through her mental link with Dexter. Dexter himself was having trouble not cracking up.

"Where are we, anyway?" asked Neptune.

"I think we're beneath the forest …" said Compa. "This place feels a bit weird …"

"Yeah, I'm getting bad vibes from this place …" Neptune saw something shining in the corner of her eye. It was a thin piece of metal with a hole in the centre: some kind of disc. "What's this? Compa, can you take a look? Do you know what it is?"

"I don't know … I've never seen something like this before."

"I know! It must be a medal to change into items with a king somewhere!" A very loud growl suddenly resounded out through the dark cavern they were in. "What!? Where's that event-flag-inducing growl coming from!?"

Compa heard movement a little way away from them, looked, and saw the Guard Vermin. "Nep-Nep! There's a huge monster over there …" Suddenly, one of its many appendages came out and snatched Compa to it. "Yikes! Please, help me …!"

The Guard Vermin was an ugly-looking, brown spider-like creature with a protrusion at the front that seemed humanoid, but only in the vaguest sense. In one of its hands, it held a sword that would've been out of proportion on any human – and was out of proportion for the part of the Guard Vermin's body holding it – but was relatively well-sized to the spider-like part of the Guard Vermin's body.

"Oh no, Compa! She's being **censored** and **censored**!" Neptune cried in a panic.

"I'm not being **censored**! I'm just off-screen, Nep-Nep!"

"Oh, you know, fan service. Well, time to get a bit more serious now. Don't worry, I'll save you! Taaaake this!"

[Neptune's attack]

Neptune hit the Guard Vermin three times with her wooden sword, only to be knocked back by one of its many legs.

[No effect]

"What the!?" Neptune exclaimed. She ran back over to Dexter and started shaking him, to no avail. Dexter started feeling like something of a wanker at this stage, but again, he knew there was no actual danger, and that the Guard Vermin would simply wait in the typical cliché manner until Neptune was ready to fight it. "Wait … who just commented on my attack?"

[I am sorry] said the soft voice. [I didn't want to surprise you, but I couldn't stop myself.]

"Hm? I've heard that voice before … Have we met?"

[I am Histoire. I thought I explained this when I was in your dream, Neptune.]

"Oh yeah! Ms Heavenly Voice from my dream! Wait … That was real?"

"Um, Nep-Nep?" called Compa from the grasp of the strangely inactive Guard Vermin. "A little help here, pretty please?"

"Oh, right! I need to help Compa! Ms Heavenly Voice, can you help?"

[No, but if you use your Hard Drive Divinity, things should be okay.]

"Hard Drive-what? I lost my memory, so do you mind taking it step-by-step?"

[I see … That explains why the conversation was all over the place last time …]

"Um … If I use that Hard Drive-thingy, I can save Compa, right?"

[Well, yes, but now I'm not sure you can use your Hard Drive Divinity …]

"Well, I'll go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb! So, please … lend me a hand. I want to save my friend, Compa!"

[… I will force run Hard Drive Divinity from you. Are you ready?]

"Ready and willing!"

[Neptune, may your power arise—]

There was a blinding flash of light that filled the cavern with white. Even Dexter could see it, and he had kept his eyes closed.

… and Neptune still had a hand on his shoulder.

When the light came, Dexter could **feel** all the power flowing from Neptune. It took all of his willpower not to open his eyes and look upon her. He could feel her power as a goddess, as a CPU, through the hand she laid on his shoulder … and a burning sensation behind his eyes that he could not explain. For a moment, Dexter felt a spark within him, then it died down. He brushed it off, thinking he'd imagined it.

 **(Play "Thor OST - Sons of Odin)**

When the light died down, Neptune was gone and Purple Heart was kneeling in her place. Purple Heart stood at 5'4. She had long, deep purple hair that was tied in twin-tails that almost reached her feet. Her eyes were bright blue and had pupils with the appearance of power signs. She wore black hair-clips with glowing blue D-pad shapes on them. The black bodysuit she wore showed off her E-cup breasts. There was a white D-pad on either of the bodysuit's shoulders. Both the arms and the bottom-front of the bodysuit had purple areas; there was also a purple stripe along her breasts. On her legs was a pair of long black boots with purple tips. She had four large triangular shapes protruding from her back, all of them purple and strongly resembling strange wings. She had a katana.

"You're glowing!" Compa exclaimed.

"Is this … really me!?" Purple Heart asked herself.

[Yes, this is your true form, Neptune] said Histoire.

"Nep-Nep! Wow! You transformed!"

"The power … It's flowing from within … There's no way I can lose with this!"

It was at around this point that Dexter thought it safe to let them know he was awake. He made a groaning sound and made a show of rubbing his head as he sat up. It wasn't that he wanted to keep his nature as a Multiverser a secret from them, it was quite simply the fact that he wanted to have all the major players in this story together when he revealed himself. Telling the story several times relatively close together was just a massive pain in the ass.

"You took your time waking up," said Purple Heart. Her face was serious and her voice was mature, very much unlike Neptune. "You just sit there and recover. I'll take care of this."

"Right-o," Dexter said without complaint. He was looking forward to watching this.

The Guard Vermin, possibly sensing that it had a problem on its hands, tossed Compa aside. She rolled a little and made a few sounds of the startled sort, but otherwise, she seemed fine. Just in case, however, Dexter worked his way over to her, as she hadn't landed too far away, and touched her on the shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. It was the truth.

"Good." Dexter smiled. It was a smile that defined every handsome feature of his face. "I'd hate to see one of my new friends hurt."

Compa blushed. "What about you? Are you okay? You were out for a little while."

"I feel well enough. Now, let's watch this unfold. I think Nep's about to kick some ass."

Purple Heart darted toward the Guard Vermin, not even giving it a chance to swing its sword, and slashed at it with her katana. She hit it once, twice, three times, each hit making it cringe away from her. On the fourth hit, she slashed upward, sending the Guard Vermin into the air, and then she hit it again, this time in a downward stroke, sending it plummeting back to the ground with a mighty _thud_.

Once it had recovered, the Guard Vermin took a swing at her with its sword. Purple Heart darted out of the way, swung her katana in a sideways motion, and cleaved the thing across the chest. It fell to the ground, unmoving.

 **(End "Thor OST - Sons of Odin")**

"Well, that should do it …" said Purple Heart.

"That was super, Nep-Nep!" said Compa. "You beat that monster in a flash!"

"Nep, I'm liking this transformation," said Dexter. "Not only was the way you decimated that thing utterly awesome, but you are," he glanced up and down her body, "just **wow**."

[You deny being a pervert, then you and do things like this] said Chieko. She was still in sword form, but every one of them could imagine her shaking her head at him. [As much as I know you hate the idea, you need to face facts, Dex – you have a problem.]

"… I'll take that into consideration."

The flash of white light filled the room again, and Neptune was back. "Whew …" she said. "That was tiring …"

[Well done, Neptune] said Histoire. [And Compa, are you okay?]

"Yessy!" said Compa. "I'm okay! And it's all thanks to Nep-Nep!" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "… Hmm? Um, Nep-Nep? Whose voice is this and where is it coming from?"

"It's Ms Heavenly Voice, AKA Histoir …" Neptune paused. "What was it again?"

[Histoire. You were only off by one letter …]

"That's right, Histy-Histy!"

[You can call me Histy. Now, nice to meet you, Compa, Dexter, Chieko. I am Histoire.]

"Hi, Hiss," said Dexter.

[Nice to meet you, Histoire] said Chieko.

"Can I call you Histy, too?" asked Compa. "It's nice to meet … um, hear you, Histy."

[Um, Compa …?] said Histoire.

Then another growl sounded throughout the cavern.

"It's **aliiiiive**!" cried Neptune and Compa.

"Run, Compa!" yelled Neptune.

"Y-Yes!" said Compa.

"Don't worry about it," said Dexter. He walked forward with a confident smile on his face. "I may have been out of it before, but I'm up now, and I'm about to kill a motherfucker."

The Guard Vermin roared at him as he approached. It swung its sword at him, but he ducked it. He swung one of Chieko's blades at one of the thing's many legs, cleaving it off with no worry. Blood spewed from the Guard Vermin's wound and it roared in pain. Taking advantage of its pain-addled state, Dexter drove the tip of one of Chieko's blades into the Guard Vermin's chest and forcibly pulled upwards, mimicking Compa's actions on the Dogoo from earlier.

The Guard Vermin's roars of pain stopped immediately and it vanished from the world.

"You know, Compa," said Dexter. "I think you were onto something. That just made things go **so** much quicker than they would have, otherwise."

* * *

 **Over 11,000 words … How's that for a first chapter, eh? I had considered making the first chapter of this story consist of the entire first chapter of the game, but that would've made it _way_ too long for the first chapter of a story, so I went with doing half of it instead. What do you guys think?**

 **I understand that there aren't really any thrilling action sequences in this first chapter, but let's be fair here, the enemies early on in the game are fucking pathetic. Even that Guard Vermin, which was meant to be so intimidating, can be killed in mere seconds. Dexter is a Multiverser, he basically has the powers of a god, this isn't SHIT to him. Don't worry, though, things'll be getting more exciting as the story goes on. I have something VERY special in mind for the events of _Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2._**

 **That's it for the first chapter of my first Multiverser story. I hope you all enjoyed! I'll see you next time!**


	2. Some Unexpected Effects

**Hello, everyone! Welcome to chapter two of _Hyperdimension Multiverser_!**

* * *

 _ **Voice Cast (how I envision characters being voiced, will likely remain the same for canon characters)**_

* * *

 _ **IF = Kate Higgins**_

 _ **Arfoire = Laura Post**_

 _ **[Mystery Character] = Rebecca Riedy**_

* * *

 **BGMs**

 **[Your Lie in April] Hikaru Nara (English Cover by S.B.R.M.P.N.Y) by Sapphire (on YouTube)**

 **Reach Out to the Truth ( _Persona 4_ OST)**

 **Mass Destruction ( _Persona 3_ OST)**

 **Crisis ( _Persona 3_ OST)**

* * *

 **(You'll probably have to have "Crisis" on repeat, because it's not that long.)**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Some Unexpected Effects**

* * *

 _ **Dexter Verser's POV**_

* * *

 _ **Compa's House, Mid-Afternoon**_

"Oh my God, that was **awesome** , Dexy!" Nep exclaimed. She had a wide smile on her face and stars in her eyes. "I mean, I wore it down for you, of course, but you really finished that thing off amazingly!"

We were back in Compa's house. It hadn't been much trouble getting back here. After facing off against that Guard Vermin, going back through Virtua Forest had been little more than child's play. There hadn't been very much talk, as most of us were full of adrenaline after the battle against the Guard Vermin (though I'm not really sure where mine came from, as I hadn't had to do much of anything), and Nep and Compa were busy defending themselves from the things in the forest that I could kill with my pinkie finger if it came down to it.

"Hey, don't forget who did the cutting," said Chieko, back in her human form. She was leaning against my shoulder in a casual manner.

"Well, yeah, it's cool that you can turn into a sword, but Dexy was the one wielding you."

"A dick-measuring contest in which the only male present is not involved," I mused aloud. "Shall wonders never cease?"

"It was a close call, though," said Compa. "I can't believe Nep-Nep's attack didn't kill it."

[Indeed] said Histoire. [I can't believe it was still alive after all the damage it took. It was very quick of you to kill it so soon after it got back up, Dexter.]

"Oh, Histy?" said Nep, holding up the disc – which I knew to be a Key Fragment – she'd found in the cave. "Can you take a look at this? Do you know what it is?"

[That's a Key Fragment] said Histoire. [It's a piece needed to release me from my seal.]

"You're sealed, Histy?" asked Compa.

"The use of the word 'seal' would certainly imply so," I said.

[Yes, I am sealed. I must ask your help in order to release me. There is one of those Key Fragments in each of the four lands.]

"I could, but I have to fight monsters, right?" asked Nep. "Isn't it … dangerous?"

"Because nothing we've done so far has been in any way dangerous," Chieko muttered.

I grinned slightly at her cheek. "Nep," I said, "there are monsters all over the place these days. It's bound to be dangerous no matter what we're doing. At least this way we'd be doing **something**."

[Dexter is correct. And, in addition, Neptune, if you can help lift my seal, I can in turn help get your memory back.]

Nep's expression brightened up instantly. "Really!?"

[Really, really.] I smirked, unable to stop myself from hearing that in Shrek's voice. [And anyway, I do need you to get your memory back.]

"Well then!" said Nep. "Let good old Neptune search far and wide for those fragments!"

"I'll help, too," said Compa. "After all, I can't leave Nep-Nep alone with her brain loss."

"That is an entirely different phenomenon from amnesia," I pointed out. Then I grinned in amusement. "Though based on her behaviour, I think Nep might have that, too."

"Bite me!"

"Kinky."

"Not in that way!" Nep huffed to herself and turned back to Compa, clearly exasperated with me. "Thanks, Compa, but are you okay being away from nursing school?"

"It's closed because of the monsters, so I'm okay," said Compa.

"We're in, too," said Chieko.

"Yeah, I was never gonna leave you lot by yourselves," I added.

[Thank you … ve … ry … mu … ch …] Histoire's voice was distant and barely even there.

"What?" asked Nep. "I'm having trouble hearing you, Histy. Is the static there bad?"

[I … using … Fragment … I … ou … t … of time … Pl … eas … lo … ok … for … Key … Fragm—] We heard no more of what she said.

Or at least the others didn't.

[Who are you?] Histoire's voice resounded in my head. I couldn't imagine just how much effort it was taking to speak to just me. [I have been here since the very beginning, I know what is meant to be in this world and what isn't. You are new and powerful. Who are you? **What** are you?]

"A friend," I whispered so the others couldn't hear me, but I knew Histoire could.

[Anyone's friend in particular, or are you just generally well-disposed to people?]

"Was … was that a joke?"

[No, it was a genuine inquiry. Your answer was very vague.]

"I'm here to stop the Console War. I want to stop Arfoire's plan and bring about peace."

[… You know things, don't you? Things others don't know, things that you really shouldn't be able to know.]

"I know a lot and for good reason. Listen, I know how much effort and energy it must be taking to talk to me like this, so I'll be quick as I can. I'm not from Gaminustri, I'm not from Celestia – which you probably know since you're from there – and I'm not even from this particular universe. I'm here to help, that is all."

[… All right, then.] She hummed. [There's something about you, some energy that feels familiar …] She released a little gasp. [No, that can't be right. Forget I said anything. I'll speak with you when I next speak with the others. I can't keep this up any longer. Goodbye until next time, Dexter.]

"O … kay …" I had no idea what that last bit was about, but I figured that I'd find out soon.

The others were staring at me in varying degrees of concern by now. Well, Nep and Compa were, Chieko was just looking a little exasperated. She probably thought I was chatting to one of my mental roommates out loud, which is a habit I had when I first started but grew out of rather quickly. I really only talk aloud to them now either if I'm alone or they say something particularly shocking. I stood up straighter than I had been before and cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Don't worry about him, girls," Chieko said with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "He's a tad schizophrenic, has all these voices in his head."

 _You truly have no idea how right you are about the schizophrenia,_ I thought, turning my mind to another universe I was currently inhabiting that was very heavy on vampires. _Oh, what irony! I like to think of myself as a therapist, yet I'm the one with a genuine mental condition. And I thought it was Mike who has all the shitty luck._

{They think us mad, mad, mad!} cackled the insane voice that had only recently made its home in my head.

 _Well you are mad, mad, mad. Shut the fuck up._

"Pay no attention to her," I said to Nep and Compa, trying to take this whole conversation away from what had just happened. "She likes to make me look crazy to distract people from how mental she is."

"Personally, I think you're both crazy," said Nep, shrugging. Her face turned slightly worried. "I think we lost contact. I hope Histy is all right."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," I said casually.

"At least we know how to get your memory back," Compa said to Nep. "Let's go, everyone!"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Nep. "Let's do this!"

"And so the adventure commences," I said as we left the house again. "How much d'you wanna bet that this shit's gonna get crazy?"

No one wanted to bet. They all had a feeling they'd lose.

* * *

 **(Play "[Your Lie in April] Hikaru Nara (English Cover by S.B.R.M.P.N.Y)" by Sapphire (on YouTube))**

 **Opening Instrumentals**

The camera sweeps over the four nations of Gamindustri, Planeptune, Lastation, Leanbox, and Lowee. The landscape is breathtaking, the very image of utopia for the people living in each.

 **Hyperdimension Multiverser**

The scene changes to an image of Dexter Verser's smiling face.

 **Just like a rainbow, bright and warm**

 **After a hazy summer storm**

 **Flowers blooming fresh with drops of dew**

Chieko, Neptune, Compa, and IF are standing together behind him with equally large smiles on their faces. Neptune throws an arm over IF's shoulder, who angrily shoves her off. Chieko and Compa laugh happily.

 **Watching you stare into the sky**

 **In the crimson sunlight**

 **That's when I fell in love with you**

The scene changes to the Basilicom for Lastation. Noire is standing in her office with an irritated look on her face. Her Black Heart persona is superimposed over the top of her.

 **Each moment in a picture frame**

 **I'm holding on**

 **No single shot will ever fade**

The scene changes to the Leanbox Basilicom. Vert is in her office, smiling happily as she stares, transfixed, at a computer screen. Her Green Heart persona is superimposed over the top of her.

 **The movie of this love**

 **Every part deep within my soul**

The scene changes to the Lowee Basilicom. Blanc is sitting her her chair, a book in her lap, smiling contentedly. Her White Heart persona is superimposed over the top of her.

The scene changes to all the characters seen so far doing battle against a large robotic creature.

 **You are the spark, my light in the dark**

 **Brilliant and bold through the night**

 **Bright as the sun, no matter what comes**

 **We can be stars if we shine**

The grinning image of Arfoire watches on as the fight continues. Behind her is another unmistakeable female figure, shrouded in shadows, but with red eyes glaring out at all the females involved in the fight.

 **Don't ever hide those feelings inside**

 **Whenever you're sad or you're blue**

 **When you can't cope, don't ever lose hope**

 **The stars shine their light over you**

The scene changes to a lone woman with long, dark blue hair, red eyes with power symbols in them that are covered over by a red visor, plenty of curves, and bright blue armour. She grins at the camera with a determined expression on her face.

 **Every wish we've made has brought us here together**

 **Till forever**

 **Underneath the stars and the moon and sun, we look to the future as one**

The camera zooms out, revealing that the woman is accompanied by Purple Heart, Black Heart, White Heart, and Green Heart, all of them standing in a line and smiling.

The scene fades to black. The woman's red eyes linger for a moment, then vanish.

 **(End "[Your Lie in April] Hikaru Nara (English Cover by S.B.R.M.P.N.Y)" by Sapphire (on YouTube))**

* * *

"I was thinking about going shopping for the journey," Compa said a couple of minutes after we left her house. "I was thinking that maybe we could eat out, too."

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

"That sounds fun!" said Nep. "We'll follow along like colourful miniature alien fairies!"

"Compa, you don't keep any LSD in the house, do you?" asked Chieko. "Because I'm worried Neptune may have taken some."

"I don't keep those kinds of drugs in the house," said Compa. "All the drugs in my house are purely for medicinal purposes. And even then I don't use them myself. Anyway, it's entirely possible Nep-Nep may just have minor brain damage. It really wouldn't surprise me at this stage."

"When you say medicinal drugs, does that include medicinal marijuana?" I asked out of the blue.

"N-No!" Compa denied, shaking her head fervently. "I … I don't keep that kind of thing in the house! Why would you wanna know that, anyway!?"

"I had this brother who I've picked up some habits from."

"What do you mean you 'had' a brother?"

 _Shit, didn't mean to let that slip._ "I'd … rather not talk about it, if it's all the same to you." The brother I mentioned was from my original family, my **human** family, the family I would never see again. Thinking about them was always hard, but it was also hard to avoid. Occasionally things like that just slip out.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Chieko. She was looking at me with concern, so I just shook my head to tell her I was fine. I gave her a smile and put my hand over hers, lifting it up and kissing the back of it. She smiled at me and wrapped her arms around my arm, resting her head on my shoulder as we walked. I looked to Nep and Compa and saw that they were both smiling at the tender moment and there was a hint of concern in both their eyes. There was also something else, something slightly more negative, but it wasn't very strong so it was difficult to identify. Though it was more present on Compa's face than it was on Nep's.

We continued the walk in silence.

* * *

 _ **Planeptune, Mid-Afternoon**_

Even though we'd already been through the city once – hell, twice, considering we rushed through it on the way back to Compa's house – Nep couldn't stop marvelling at the place. She looked around with stars in her eyes and her mouth wide open. It made the fact that she was the goddess who ran the place rather funny to think about.

"Now that I had a good chance to look, this is a really huge city!" said Nep.

"Planeptune is the most advanced city out of the four Lands," said Compa.

"Ah, so that's why you have that super yummy pudding."

"Neptune, Compa made that, it would've tasted the same no matter where in Gamindustri she lived," said Chieko.

"Hey, did you hear about that rumour?" a random man near us asked another random man.

"You mean the one about the newly discovered cave under the forest?" asked man #2.

"Well, that's not all. I heard that place is infested with monsters."

"Everyone's saying that the place must be a breeding place for the monsters."

"You've gotta be kidding!? Breeding … That sounds kind of cool!"

 _Breeding sounds cool to every man, my friend,_ I thought. I wasn't joking, either. I was quite a fan of the process, myself.

"Yeah, and the Guild is looking for people to check that place out now," said man #2.

"Seriously?" asked man #1. "I thought the CPU would do something about it."

After plot conveniences #1 and 2 had finished talking and left, we stood in silence for a few moments. Compa looked a bit put out for some reason.

"Compa?" Nep said in concern.

"Do you guys mind if we do something before we leave?" Compa asked us.

"We haven't even done what we came here to do yet, Compa," I said. "We can stay as long as we need to."

"Is this about the cave?" asked Nep.

"Yes," said Compa. "Even old klutzy me wants to help Planeptune and the goddess."

"Oh, I think you're already helping her out," Chieko said. Her grin looked like it could've split her face apart. "Just a gut feeling, you know?"

"Well, I guess we're going to the Guild instead of shopping, then!" said Nep.

"Are you sure?" asked Compa.

"What kind of people would we be if we didn't help the place out?" I asked. "Leaving the place to rot as monsters come pouring out of the forest is something only a complete psychopath or a coward would do."

"You've stuck with me this far, so it's my turn to follow you," said Nep.

"And this should be fun," added Chieko. "Going to the Guild and grabbing up a mission. It'll be just like one of those adventure stories."

"Lead the way, Compa," I said to her.

Compa smiled at us with a slightly red face. She turned and started walking, and we all followed her. Eventually we entered a very large building, though not as large as the massive building I presumed was the Basilicom, and inside it looked a lot less pristine than the rest of Planeptune but more militarised. The walls were grey metal, on them were what appeared to be computer screens, and there were a number of holographic screens scattered about the place, some of which were in use. All the other people in there looked like they were ready for a fight, which gave the place a very serious atmosphere.

"So, is this the Guild?" asked Nep.

"Yes," said Compa. "You can get all sorts of work and missions here."

We walked up to one of the holographic computer screens. These seemed to take the place of the traditional guild notice boards from other fantasy worlds. It was easy to tell why Planeptune was considered the most advanced of all the Lands.

"Let's see …" Nep said, looking over the jobs listed on the screen. "Cave … cave … Ah, this must be it."

"If you want to take care of an order, just enter it like so …" Compa selected the job and typed in a few things. "Done!"

"Quick and efficient," I said. "I like it."

"You're used to this, aren't you?" Nep asked Compa. "Do you use the Guild often?"

"Yup!" said Compa. "More for volunteering and things. This type is a first time for me."

"Well, they say you never forget your first time," said Chieko.

Compa's face turned slightly red at the very slight innuendo.

"Well then, let's make this dungeon expedition a success!" said Nep.

"Yes!" said Compa. "Let's do our best, everyone!"

"Assuming they're the same monsters from the forest, this should be a piece of piss," I said. But I knew full well that the end of this little expedition would hold something of a surprise for the others. It would be the first fight with Arfoire, and I was determined not to let her get what she wants.

"Dexter, darling, that's something you should know by now," said Chieko. "Nothing's ever easy when you're involved."

She did have a point. But it was a point that was true of all the Multiversers.

We ended up taking a few more quests while we were there, too, as they seemed to be things that would coincide with our already accepted task. We now had to bring back a Boxer-X Soul, kill three Super Otakus, five Dogoos, five Tulips, five Clydes and Mrs Clydes, and five Pixelvaders. We already had the Boxer-X Soul, so we handed that in to the Guild and were rewarded with an SP Charger.

Once that was done, we left.

* * *

 _ **Monster Cave, Evening**_

If finding the crater where Nep landed face-first was easy, then finding the massive cave that had opened up beneath us before took about as little effort as sitting down. Upon really thinking about it, I realised that it reminded me of the caves in _Minecraft_ , except for the obvious fact that this one was real and not made of blocks. I think it was the way that the ground just seemed to open up in the middle of the forest that drew the comparison from me. And, much like the caves in _Minecraft_ , this one was full of monsters. Monsters that were a piece of piss to fight, yes, but still monsters.

"Say, guys?" said Nep. "What are we supposed to do here?"

"Nep-Nep …" said Compa. "You didn't read the fine print, did you?"

"It's a remarkably good thing you weren't signing a contract with the Devil, in that case," I said.

"Oh, come on!" Nep said, smiling. "No one reads the fine print! Never have, never will!"

"How do you know that you never have?" I asked.

She blinked a couple of times. "I dunno." She shrugged.

"Either way, that's nothing to brag about …" Compa said in disappointment. "It looks like we have to check on the monsters and what they're doing."

"Speaking of monsters," said Nep. "There was that huge monster down here last time … Do you think there are more of those things hanging around?"

"It was called a Guard Vermin," I said, "and I wouldn't put money on it. There's a chance, yes, but finding two of those things in the same place doesn't generally happen. And even if there is another one, I'll just kill that, too."

"Plus, a lot of other people came here already," said Compa. "If there were more of them down here, I'm sure we would've heard about it."

[Are we going to stand around yapping all day?] asked Chieko, who was in her sword form in my right hand. [Or are we going to go and fight some monsters?]

As we made our way through the cave, I couldn't help but marvel at its beauty. It was dark, as one would expect, but it was lit up by these crystals that jutted out of the rock every now and then. The crystals were purple in colour and glowed brightly. Then there were the blatantly man-made bridges which were built of stone but seemed to have these crystals built in, too; they were arranged in patterns that reminded me of wires criss-crossing each other on a circuit-board. I didn't know who had been down here to build those bridges, but they'd done a damn fine job of it.

But eventually even the lights from the crystals started to dwindle.

"It's getting darker the deeper we go …" said Nep.

I had noticed that, too. I didn't actually respond to her words, though. I was caught up humming "In the Dark of the Night" from that expensive Disney knock-off, _Anastasia_.

"You guys, where are you?" Compa called from somewhere behind us. "It's so dark, I can't see you."

"Oh, right, I'm the only one of us who can see in the dark," I said suddenly. "It's so easy to forget that sometimes. Other people are so fragile and adorable … Anyway, hold on, Compa, I'm coming back for ya. Nep, do try not to cause any trouble for yourself, okay?" I turned around and walked back a little. Compa wasn't actually that far away. I reached out a hand and grasped hers. She gasped in surprised and started a little. "It's all right," I soothed. "It's just me. Come on, we're just a little way ahead."

"Th-Thanks, Dexter," she said. She couldn't see, I knew, but I could, and the bright red flush on her face was clear as day to me. It made her look cute.

"Wha—!?" two voices cried up ahead. One of them was Nep's, the other was someone new.

"Nep-Nep?" Compa called out. She grasped my hand tighter in her worry. "Are you okay? If you fall into a pit, it could be game over …"

[Nice to know everyone's an optimist] said Chieko.

"I think something ran into me …" Nep groaned out. "Hey, it's dark, so be careful!"

"Ow …" said the girl Nep had bumped into. It was IF. The fact that both Compile Heart and Idea Factory inserted characters into their game to represent their companies has amused me since I first played them when I was human. "Watch it, girl!"

IF is a fair-skinned girl who is somehow even shorter than Nep, standing at 4'11, despite the fact that both appeared to be in their late teens. Her hair, which was a deep brown with a pale brown hue, reached right the way down to her waist. Her eyes were sharp and green. She wore a bow on the left side of her head that had the appearance of two leaves. She wore a loose, large blue coat with silver buttons and trimming that she kept open and was clearly too large for her; it was so large, in fact, that her sleeves completely obscured her hands. There was the symbol of an orange lightning bolt on each sleeve. Beneath the open coat, she wore a matching tank top and shorts combo, both being black with silver trimming. The belt around her waist had this design, also; the belt buckle had her name engraved on it in a stylised manner. She wore blue boots with silver trimming that matched her coat.

And at this moment she was on the floor rubbing her head after Nep had bumped into her and knocked her down.

 _Must've come round a corner,_ I reasoned to myself. It was the only way to explain why I hadn't seen her coming.

"Wait. What are kids like you doing here?" IF asked us.

I couldn't help but smirk at that. She hadn't the slightest idea of how old I am. Then again, the only one here that did was Chieko.

"Me?" Nep asked in sudden hostility. "A kid? Speak for yourself! You're a kid, too! Who are you!?"

"Girls, girls, girls," I said as Compa and I reached them. "Neither of you are kids, you're both just short-arses. Can we please have a civil conversation now?"

They both glared at me menacingly then looked at each other without the hostility. _Hey, if they bond over their irritation with me, then that still does what I want it to. Of course, short girls do have much easier access to the more sensitive parts of the body when they decide to get violent … well, I'm scared shitless now._

"I'm IF," the girl in question introduced herself to Nep. "Let's just say I'm the Wind Walker of Gamindustri."

Nep had no real reaction to this.

"Ah, huh?" said IF in confusion.

"You're the Wild Talker of Gamindustri?" asked Nep.

IF ground her teeth in irritation. " **Wind Walker**. I travel the world, making a living working with the Guild. Enough about me, what are you three doing down here?"

[Four, thank you very much] Chieko corrected her in annoyance.

"The sword is alive and also a person," I explained briefly before IF could get the opportunity to ask questions. "That's about the only explanation you're getting while we're still in this cave … Actually, I have a better question: how come you can all see now? This plot's about as inconsistent as one of M. Night Shyamalan's plot twists …"

"… What the hell are you talking about?" asked IF.

"Dexter says a lot of things like that," said Compa. "You'll get used to it."

"We came for the Guild, too," Nep explained. "Oh, and I'm Neptune, she's Compa, he's Dexy, and the sword is Chieko."

"My name is Dexter," I said. "You don't have to say it like Nep does. If you're gonna shorten it, then Dex is fine."

"Nice to meet you," Compa said to IF. "I'm Compa."

"You've got to be kidding," said IF. "You thre— **four** are working for the Guild, too?"

"Ah, sure, nice to meet you, too …" Nep muttered sarcastically. "Well, we can handle ourselves, you know!"

"Really? Even with all the monsters running around here?"

"Uh …"

"Don't tell me. You didn't look at the fine print before taking the work."

"Got it in one," I said. "But don't worry, the rest of us did, and we know what we're getting into."

Suddenly, a very familiar roar resounded throughout the cave.

"… Well shit, there really **is** another one in here." Because they encountered the same Guard Vermin twice in canon, I suppose I had simply assumed that killing it before the second encounter would make the first encounter with Arfoire slightly easier for everyone. Apparently I was wrong.

"What!?" IF gasped out. "You mean you know what that was!?"

"Guard Vermin," I said. "Big, ugly, and definitely vermin. Pretty easy to kill, though, at least for me. So yeah, I'll be dealing with it if it turns up."

IF sighed. "Hard to believe, especially with the ego, but if you can fight, I'm going to need all of you to help."

"We need to beat Mr Monster for the sake of Planeptune!" said Compa.

"Okay!" said Nep. "Let me go super-mode from the beginning, then!" One flash of light followed, then we were once again joined by Purple Heart. "Hah … I'm ready now."

"Wha—!?" IF gasped. She looked Purple Heart up and down, staring enviously at her large breasts (IF was an A-cup). "What just happened!? You're huge! Like, all over!"

"Yes, she is …" I muttered out.

[Mind out of the gutter, Dexter, this is serious] Chieko scolded me.

"Surprise!" said Compa. "Nep-Nep can change forms! Nep-Nep is really strong like this."

"She kicked the tom out of the Guard Vermin before I finished it off last time, too," I said.

IF looked surprised and about to say something but paused. "… Tom?"

"It's rhyming slang. The full phrase is 'tom tit.' It means shit."

"Ah."

The Guard Vermin's roars filled the cave again.

"So, want to get it on, do you?" Purple Heart asked. "Well, the feelings are mutual."

"Phrasing, Nep," I said. "Anyway, should we go kill it now?"

"Yes. We're going to have to take it down to prevent any more casualties!"

 **(Play "Reach Out to the Truth" ( _Persona 4_ OST))**

It turned out to be significantly closer than we had initially thought. The second we rounded the nearest corner, the Guard Vermin was there … and it was a lot bigger than the last one.

The second we caught sight of it, IF used her magic skills to nail the fucker with a flurry of fireballs, ending in one moderately sized explosion that staggered the beast but did not appear to harm it.

Purple Heart followed her up with that same five-hit combo she used before, culminating in the Guard Vermin being hurled to the ground. It got up again with no real trouble.

Compa rushed forward and jabbed her needle into one of its legs. It roared out in pain at the action and took a swipe at her, knocking her away but otherwise not harming her in the slightest. It would appear that monsters had just as averse a reaction to needles as humans do.

I rushed forward with Chieko and slashed at the Guard Vermin twice, once with either blade. The slashes, which hit its chest, appeared to do nothing, but then I spun her around in a tornado-like move, and the Guard Vermin staggered backward.

IF slashed it a few times with her sword.

Purple Heart did the same.

Then the Guard Vermin fought back. It lifted up its massive sword – which, due to the change in proportions, was also a lot bigger than that of the first Guard Vermin – and brought it down on us. Compa, IF, and I managed to get clear of it completely, but Purple Heart caught the blunt edge of it and was knocked back as a result. She wasn't overly damaged, being a goddess and all, but due to her currently low compared to usual power she still seemed to feel the pain. She cried out as she was sent skidding back. She looked at the Guard Vermin and scowled.

IF used the opportunity to stab her sword into the Guard Vermin's behind. And I mean **right** in there. The Guard Vermin roared out in very understandable pain, but in doing so it left itself open for an attack.

"Sorry, Dexter!" Compa yelled as she suddenly jumped onto my shoulders only to jump off again. She flew at the Guard Vermin with her needle held high above her head. When she reached her target, she stabbed her needle downwards, impaling it right in the top of the monster's head. The Guard Vermin stopped roaring instantly. It went suddenly very still, then vanished completely.

 **(End "Reach Out to the Truth" ( _Persona 4_ OST))**

"… Why do people consider those things a threat, again?" I asked. "Seriously, people are always talking about those things like they're shit-scary, but even without me here, I think that thing would've gone down **insanely** easily. They're about as threatening as that CGI Dwayne Johnson monster from _The Mummy Returns_." I noticed everyone looking at me. I waved them off. "Another movie reference you won't understand."

"Well, I agree with the point you're making, anyway," said Purple Heart. "That was almost unfair."

[Says the only one of us who took a hit] Chieko pointed out cheekily.

It was a good thing that Purple Heart is more mature than Nep, because otherwise this likely would have become an argument.

"Not bad," said IF. "Honestly, I'm not sure I could've handled it myself, but in a group it was really easy. Thanks." She looked at Purple Heart. "And that's some transformation. You're like a different person."

"I was surprised the first time I saw it, too," said Compa.

That feeling I had experienced when Nep first became Purple Heart suddenly took hold of me again. I felt a strange flow of power within me and a slight burning behind my eyes. I recognised the feel of the power well enough, it was something that happened whenever I gained a power I had to let my body adapt to. One big difference between inserting myself into someone's place and simply popping into the world is that if I'm taking someone's place, I get all their abilities with no problem; but when it came to gaining abilities that had to be integrated into my body, it sometimes took a little time for my body to adapt. That was the feeling I was getting.

And it felt like it was pretty much done.

"Dexy, are you all right?" Purple Heart asked me.

"I'm fine," I said. I tried my best to ignore how slightly ridiculous the name "Dexy" sounded coming from a much more mature-sounding voice. "Just thinking. There ain't much else to do, that fight was a piece of piss."

Purple Heart nodded and transformed back into Nep. "Phew …" she said, wiping sweat from her brow. "I'm beat …"

"Nice fight, Nep-Nep," said Compa. "You were really cool."

"Give yourself some credit, too, Compa," I cut in. "You're the one who jammed your needle down that thing's skull. That was **brilliant**."

"Don't interrupt the flattery, Dexy!" Nep snapped.

"Really, it's hard to believe you're the same person," said IF.

[Tell me about it] said Chieko.

"Oh yeah, Iffy, how about joining our party while we're at it?" Nep suggested to IF.

"Iffy?" asked IF, raising an eyebrow. "Me? Iffy?"

"Yup," said Nep. "IF = Iffy! Sounds a lot cuter, too, don't you think?"

I made a point of looking at IF's choice of clothing. "I think she was going for badass over cute, Nep," I said.

"Iffy …" said IF.

"Wait, you don't like it?" asked Nep. "Oh, were you teased by kids with that name?"

"No, I was never teased with my name before. Just call me anything you want."

"Okay, then I'll call you Iffy, too," said Compa.

"I think I'll stick with your full name," I said. "Iffy just sounds so … undignified. Like calling a big-ass wolf Shaggydog … Damn you, Rickon Stark, you should not have been trusted with the responsibility of naming your own pet …"

"Now then, do you want to come with us?" Nep asked IF, completely ignoring my potentially insane ramblings. "Having a pro like you would be cool!"

[I completely resent the implication that we aren't pros] said Chieko.

"Don't worry," said Compa. "I think you and Dexter are pros."

"Well, why not?" said IF. "As they say, the more the merrier."

"Great!" said Nep. "Well, hope we become bestest friends, Iffy!"

"Sure, looking forward to it."

We continued to go through the cave. It wasn't anywhere near eventful, I regret to say, so there's no point going into detail about it. What few monsters we did encounter were dealt with so quickly that it couldn't even be called fighting.

Eventually Nep spoke up again. "Well, now that I have the chance to look around, this place is huge."

"We're lucky we didn't get lost running around," said Compa.

"What running around?" I asked. "We haven't had to run since we got in here. It's actually pretty boring."

[I never thought I'd say this, but would some eldritch abomination please come out and try to eat the planet or something?] asked Chieko. She sounded just as bored as I was.

"You guys came down here before, right?" asked IF. "Mind filling me in with some details?"

And that's how Nep got into a long-winded story about the first time we came down here.

"… and that's that!" she finished after awhile.

"Nep falls, loses memory, Histoire, Key Fragments …" said IF. "That's all so random."

"Hey, well shoot, thanks," said Nep.

"Nep, please learn to distinguish between compliments and other statements," I said. "I think you saying that has actually killed a few of my brain cells."

The fact that I'm only telling you of the parts where we stopped to have a conversation should be more than enough to tell you just how uneventful the rest of our trip through the caves was. The only truly memorable part was near the end of our little trip down there.

"Hey, Iffy," said Nep when we were a bit further in. "I picked this up, but …" She was holding a disc. Not like the Key Fragment, which seemed more like **part** of a disc, but a full disc.

"It looks like a disc …" said IF.

 _No shit, Sherlock,_ I thought.

{Yes?} said the Jonny Lee Miller-played Sherlock Holmes of the show _Elementary_ , who I am in another universe.

 _Not you._

"Wait, I noticed just now, but is Nep … me?" asked Nep.

"You name me Iffy, so why not?" asked IF. "Plus, Dex calls you that, too, so what's so wrong with me saying it?"

Nep grumbled, "I thought we were all supposed to give each other unique nicknames … These games need unique character development, damn it …"

"… Going back," IF said, apparently wanting to ignore that weirdness (not knowing that there would be much more to come if she continued to hang out with us), "where'd you get the disc from?"

"I dunno." She shrugged. "It was hanging on that wall over there."

"Hanging on the wall? This disc? You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"It does seem an odd place to keep a disc," I said.

"What!?" Nep exclaimed. "You don't believe me!? Dexy, after all we've been through …"

"Oh, no, I believe you," I corrected her. "I'm just saying that this is a bloody weird place to keep a disc. All these jagged rocks and shit scattered about, it's a wonder the bloody thing isn't scratched to all-hell."

"You do have a good point," said Compa. "Whoever left that down here left it for a reason."

"Seems like Nep managed to find something interesting," said IF.

"Now that's my Iffy!" exclaimed Nep. "'Iffy' has got to mean 'I Feel For You!' That's love!"

"How about we call you AI instead?" Compa suggested to IF. "That's Japanese for 'love!'"

 _Wait … they only have four countries, but they have a concept of Japanese?_ I thought incredulously. _Is nothing in this world ever going to make any kind of sense?_

I got a resounding {Probably not} from every single one of my mental roommates.

"Why not spell it lower case, like, 'ai?'" Nep suggested. "It's cuter, too!"

"All right, enough insulting IF's name," I said. "We're here to do a job, need I remind you? Or would you rather we stand about until something that actually poses a threat turns up?" Just as I said that, the disc started shining. "Of fucking **course** …"

"Wha—!?" cried out Nep. "Wait. The disc … It's shining!"

"What's going on?" Compa asked fearfully.

"H-How would I know!?" asked IF. "I've never seen anything like this before, either!"

"You'll thank me for this later," I said. Then I snatched the disc from Nep's hand just as a monster materialised out of its glow. I then threw the disc to the ground, swung Chieko, and smashed it into tiny little pieces.

 **(Play "Mass Destruction" ( _Persona 3_ OST))**

"Monsters!?" IF exclaimed. "They came from the disc!"

There were only four of them, and they didn't look to be that big of a threat. One, the biggest, was a Super Otaku, which basically looked like a cartoonishly fat teenager with round glasses that obscured his eyes in white. It was accompanied by three Clydes, who were literally just barely-hidden rip-offs of the _Pacman_ ghosts.

I immediately swung Chieko at the Super Otaku's neck, but it was so fat that the blade didn't go all the way through. The incredibly insulting stereotype let out quite the cry of pain, though. It then flung its belly out in front of it and battered it against my chest. This would have likely pushed any normal person back, but I am far from normal. I swung Chieko again, this time at the other side of its neck, and dug in deep again, but not quite severing its head from its body. I pulled Chieko back and jammed one of her blades into his throat like a spear, completely severing it from its body and causing it to vanish from the world.

[Never shove me into something as disgusting as that thing's fat folds ever again] Chieko said in an unamused deadpan.

"No promises," I said.

I saw that IF was making fireballs rain down on the three Clydes with no real effort whatsoever. Only one of them died in the onslaught, however.

One of the Clydes got out of the cascade and head – body? – butted Nep, knocking her back a little.

Nep retaliated by whacking it with her wooden sword a number of times. It died very quickly, having been damaged quite a lot by IF's fireballs.

Compa slashed the final Clyde across with her giant needle. It died instantly.

 **(End "Mass Destruction" ( _Persona 3_ OST))**

"That was a surprise," said Nep. She turned to me with an accusatory stare. "You should've told us that monsters come from discs."

"Not all of them do," I said. "The only reason they normally do that is if someone needed them here for a purpose. Believe me, if it was this easy to get rid of all the world's monsters, I would've brought it up a lot sooner. I don't know what the point of filling up a cave with monsters is, though. Maybe they really **are** trying to recreate _Minecraft_?"

"Doubtful," said IF. "I don't think anybody with an agenda that childish would be able to pull this off. I wonder who's responsible …"

"I think this is a super discovery!" Compa exclaimed. "Now that we know what's causing so many monsters to gather around Gamindustri, we might be able to stop it!"

 **(Play "Crisis" ( _Persona 3_ OST))**

"Hahahahahaha!" rang out the distinctly mature, feminine laughter that I knew belonged to Arfoire. "I came for my Guardian, but I didn't expect to meet you here, Neptune!"

"Who's there?" asked Nep, looking around nervously. "What's with that old, melodramatic laugh …?"

"Who are you calling old!?" The lady herself, Arfoire, stepped out of the shadows she had somehow been concealing herself perfectly in (God, these games love clichés). She looked like some kind of pale elven witch, to be honest. Her skin was a purple so pale that it looked white. Her hair was an ever-so-slightly darker shade of purple that was hard to notice; it was cut short with one long bang on the right side. Her ears were pointed, not unlike my own (though mine were less noticeable). She wore a stereotypical black witch's hat with a ring of thorns wrapped around the base which connected to big purple roses and leaves. Her outfit was a black one-piece with purple stripes along the cuffs and torso area. She wore black lipstick and eyeshadow, presumably to contrast with the paleness of her skin. Her breasts were a pleasing to look at E-cup.

She, like all the important characters, represented something involving gaming. In Arfoire's case, she was the physical representation of video game piracy.

"Mocking people as usual," Arfoire continued, glaring hatefully at Nep. "You've not changed a bit."

"Is this a friend of yours?" Compa asked Nep.

"She doesn't **sound** like a friend," I pointed out. I gripped Chieko tightly, ready for a fight. Arfoire was meant to be an extremely powerful goddess, so as simple as it may have been to fight her in a video game, I had no way of knowing how powerful she was going to be in reality. I even found myself considering the option of taking this seriously. The thought then occurred to me to try and activate this new power that had been building up in me since the first time we entered this cave. _Well, it's as good a time as any._

"Dexy's right," said Nep. "I don't know any old ladies who wear this much goth makeup."

"That's good to hear," said Compa. "I was about to doubt your choice of people."

"Yeah," said IF. "If you were friends with her, I would've put in my resignation."

[And apparently she thinks it's Halloween] said Chieko. [I know there are people who dress like that, even actual wizards, witches, and such, but the key difference is that they don't do it in a failed attempt to look intimidating.]

"Sooooo," said Nep, focusing on Arfoire, "who are you, Missus?"

Arfoire gritted her teeth in anger. "How dare you! Saying what you want in front of me … I'll get rid of you all!"

"Look what you've done, Nep," said IF. "Now you made the lady mad."

"Wait?" said Nep. "It's my fault!?"

Arfoire started making her way toward us, that spear of hers with the overly large and intricate head held out in an aggressive posture. I could **feel** the physical strength behind that posture, behind that hostility. She was a powerful one, no doubt about that, but still nowhere near as powerful as some other enemies the Multiversers have to contend with semi-regularly.

This would make a good experiment.

"Now, before you go and get too aggressive," I said, stepping in front of the others, who could clearly feel Arfoire's strength and killing intent just as much as I could if their shuddering was anything to go by. "I think I'd like to go a round with you, Ms E-Cups." I paused. "Okay, that sounded much less dirty in my head. Can we just get to fighting?"

Before anyone could respond, I focused on the power that had only recently made itself known in me … and **released**.

A bright light took over my vision and when it was gone I wasn't myself any more.

* * *

 _ **Third Person POV**_

* * *

"I-Impossible!" Arfoire exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the light emanating from Dexter. "That's … that's Hard Drive Divinity … But no male has the ability to become a CPU! How is this possible!?"

She got her answer when the light died down.

"Well, this is unexpected," said the new, distinctly **female** , voice from where Dexter had been standing. "I don't think I'll complain, though."

The person standing where Dexter had once been was definitely a woman, no doubt about it. Her skin was flawlessly pale. Her hair was long and dark blue, reaching down all the way to the plump, shapely ass that was her rear. Her eyes were crimson red and glowing, red power symbols taking the place of the pupil found in normal people's eyes. Covering her body – a thing that was clearly meant for sex appeal: G-cup breasts, an hourglass figure, wide hips, toned thighs, and one plump ass – was a plain, skin-tight suit of light blue armour that covered every inch of her body below the neck yet left absolutely **nothing** to the imagination.

And right now she was looking down at her tits.

"Very nice," she complimented herself. "Never thought I'd have a female form – my luck isn't quite what Mike's is – but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth." She looked around at everyone. "Sorry if I'm rambling on, but part of me's always wanted to be able to genderbend myself at will. It takes a bit of energy to do, but hey, apparently my wish was granted."

"Who **are** you!?" shouted Arfoire.

"Not really sure, to be honest," said the woman Dexter had become. "These CPU forms always come with a personality change, don't they? I haven't really tested the waters yet. Am I … funny? Sarcastic? Sexy?" She looked down at herself and smirked. "Oh yes, **definitely** sexy. But, then again, I'm pretty fit as a bloke, too." She hummed, then clicked her fingers. "Oh! I know! Blue Heart, that's my name. Call me Blue Heart. **Now**!" She looked at Arfoire with a smirk, licking her lips. "Didn't we have some **business** to get down to?"

Whereas Dexter had been apologetic and awkward about making it sound sexual, Blue Heart apparently had no qualms about sounding like she was coming on to somebody.

She had just discovered a personality trait. She was a very sexual person.

Arfoire stared in shock for a moment, then chuckled. "So this is what happens when a man becomes a CPU: he becomes a woman. Now, isn't that interesting? And very convenient for me. I was only here for Neptune's power, but if I can get two for the price of one, then what is there to complain about?"

"Probably quite a lot, as you'll learn in a few minutes," said Blue Heart. "And what else did you expect? Men can't be CPUs – I'm not even a hundred percent sure how this happened to **me** – but if it were to happen, as it clearly has, why would the power change in order to fit the person? Surely the power would instead change the person to fit **it**. I think that's what happened to me: I couldn't use this at first, so my body adapted to it." A dirty grin worked its way onto her face. "I wonder what a body like this could be used for **outside** of the battlefield …"

"Great, he— Er, **she's** a pervert," IF deadpanned.

"I can't believe this!" cried Neptune. "Dexy can transform, too! And into a super hot blue-haired lady! We can be transformer buddies!"

Compa remained silent, like she was having trouble comprehending this sudden change of gender.

"Enough talking," said Arfoire, swinging her spear out in front of her. "Let's see how that Hard Drive Divinity of yours compares to **me**!"

Blue Heart smirked and raised Chieko in her hands. "Gladly."

The two women charged at each other and clashed their weapons against one another.

[It's not even close to being able to break me, but her attack power's no joke] said Chieko.

 _I'd noticed,_ Blue Heart said through their mental link. They kept their weapons against each other in a stalemate for a few seconds. _Time for a little Unrelenting Force to get the ball rolling._ " **Fus Ro Dah!** "

The shout sent Arfoire flinging back, though she was able to stop her movements without any trouble.

"So, we're using magic now, are we?" said Arfoire with a grin. "Then how about a little lightning?"

She thrust one hand forward and a stream of purple lightning shot out of it. Blue Heart raised Chieko in front of her to block it, which worked, but she could still feel the pure, unadulterated power that Arfoire was putting into that lightning. The thought that she wasn't even at full power yet was genuinely scary to consider.

Blue Heart, with some strain, pushed forward whilst blocking the lightning. When she got close enough, she dropped and attempted to leg-sweep Arfoire, who simply somersaulted over her head like it was nothing.

Blue Heart stood up, turned around, and the two stared each other in the eyes for a little while, like either one was sizing the other up.

They began to walk in circles around each other, like lions about to fight to the death.

Arfoire was the first to attack again. She lunged forward with her spear, yelling, attempting to impale Blue Heart on the end of it.

Blue Heart dodged to the side and brought Chieko round for a swing, with Arfoire narrowly managed to duck away from. A few strands of her hair fell out from where Chieko's blade just about slashed at a few of them.

Arfoire swung her spear, and Blue Heart swung Chieko, the blade of the spear meeting the blade of the sword and clashing against it. Blue Heart immediately took advantage of Chieko's double-ended nature and, using the momentum created by the sudden stop of one end of the sword, swung the other round. Arfoire ducked back, but the blade just skimmed her nose, causing a small amount of blood to leak out.

It was then that Blue Heart started to let certain aspects of her Dumner blood slip through. Specifically, Ancestor's Wrath, which meant her enemies sustained minor burn damage when they came too close to her. It wouldn't be enough to really hurt a goddess like Arfoire, but even miniscule damage was better than doing no damage at all.

It did so little damage, however, that Arfoire didn't even seem to notice. She glared at Blue Heart, gritting her teeth, and wiped away the blood that was dripping from the cut on her nose. She raised her spear up and slammed the base into the ground, causing a circle of flames to erupt around her.

Blue Heart jumped out of range of the fire with ease … only to find it was exactly what Arfoire had expected her to do.

While it was nowhere near enough to kill her, the strike Arfoire delivered with her spear threw Blue Heart across the room. She managed to keep herself from falling down completely by going on one knee and digging her hand into the ground, but she knew that the hit was going to smart for awhile.

"I'll take that Key Fragment back, if you don't mind," said Arfoire once she thought she'd gotten the upper hand.

"Sorry, but no," said Blue Heart. She still had that cocky look on her face, and it was pissing Arfoire off to no end.

"You act as if you have a choice." Arfoire smirked. "And I think I'll be taking your power, too. You seem like a strong one."

Blue Heart could have told her that she'd been holding back to ensure that the cave didn't collapse on Neptune, Compa, and IF (it may have also had something to do with the fact that Arfoire needed to be alive for anything to go the way Blue Heart/Dexter wanted it), but she kept her mouth shut. There was no need to make Arfoire even more excited about the prospect of gaining a fifth CPU's powers. That being said, she couldn't afford to let Arfoire get anywhere **near** the amount of power she had, or the consequences would be disastrous for Gamindustri and even Celestia itself.

Arfoire laughed her insane laughter. "Finally! The first step to my ambition has finally begun!"

Seeing Arfoire laugh that much, Blue Heart smirked. _A rather odd way to defeat an enemy, but she won't be expecting it and it won't do any damage to the surroundings. I'd say it'll work just fine._ With that in mind, she whispered, " _Hysteria_ ," and one of her eyes went blue for a fraction of a second.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Arfoire cackled. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She doubled over, clutching at her stomach, now looking immensely confused and even slightly pained. "W-Why – hahahahahahahaha! – c-can't I st-stop – HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! – l-laughing!?" She interrupted herself with even more laughter.

 **(End "Crisis" ( _Persona 3_ OST))**

Blue Heart smirked. "Just a little trick I picked up elsewhere." She thought to the world were she – er, Dexter – was currently an insane vampire in Los Angeles. The mind tricks he/she could now play were pretty minor, as things went, but they could be damn useful at times, too. Like right now for instance. "That's gonna last you at least a few hours, and I sincerely doubt you'll be able to fight with that laughter basically obstructing your every move, so why don't you just run along? You can give more evil villain speeches next time."

"You b-bitch!" Arfoire roared … with laughter. She looked like she was going to take the advice and retreat. "I'll … I'll get you – hahahahahaha! – n-next time!"

"Wait!" Neptune yelled out at Arfoire. "Hey, old lady! You said my name … do you know me?"

Arfoire would have looked irritated and slightly confused if it weren't for the laugher. "Of c-course I do! I know you like the p-palm – hahahahahahaha! – of my hand!"

"Then tell me who the heck I am!"

"What – hahahahahaha! – are you t-talking a – hehehehehehe! – about?"

"Nep-Nep lost her memory," said Compa. "If you know anything about Nep-Nep, can you tell us?"

The laughter Arfoire released upon hearing that was the only laughter she'd released those past few minutes that was genuinely her own. "Y-You? Neptune? Lose your – hahahahahahaha! – memory? This i-is golden! I was w-worried when I lost sight of you, b-but – hahahahahahahahahaha! – I see that luck is no my side! I'll let you hold onto the Key Fragment for now. Until next time!"

"Wait!" Neptune called out. Arfoire had teleported away. "She's … gone?"

"She got away …" said IF. "Who was that? It seems like she was going after you, Nep."

"That was Arfoire," said Blue Heart. "She's a goddess – not like the CPUs, that's an entirely different kind of goddess – and she used to be an insanely powerful one, but that's not important at the moment. I'll explain everything when I can. For now, though …" There was a flash and Dexter was back. "You know, that wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience. Give me some time to adjust, and I might start switching up outside of battle just to add a little more variety into my life."

[Not that you need much more variety] said Chieko.

"True enough. Anyway, she was after Nep for her power, that much you could probably figure out from the way she was yapping on. I wish I could tell you more than that, but I can't; there are rules about this sort of thing."

"How do you even **know** all this?" asked IF.

"I'll tell you sometime, but not now. It's not that I don't want to, it's simply that I know for a fact we'll be picking up more companions over the course of this little adventure, and I would rather not repeat the same story more than necessary. Call it my own unique brand of laziness."

IF sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I'm not mentally equipped to deal with this shit. How about we head out and take a rest?"

"Good idea," said Compa.

"Yeah," said Neptune. "I could use some time chillin' out like a balla."

"… Never speak like that again," said IF.

[I don't even have ears at the moment and that was painful to listen to] said Chieko.

"Agreed," said Dexter. "Right, you lot, let's move on out."

* * *

 _ **Dexter Verser's POV**_

* * *

 _ **Compa's House, Night**_

We were gathered around the dining room table in Compa's house to discuss all that had occurred that day. While I felt that I needed to give out as much information as I could in order to save on confusion, I was severely beginning to regret saying as much as I had due to the fact that IF could barely take her eyes off me, and not in the good way. Nep and Compa seemed relatively trusting of me, which was a comfort, but having only met IF an hour or so before, I knew I was going to have to work hard for her trust.

 _Eventually,_ I thought to myself. _Better take all this one step at a time._

"I couldn't have imagined the monsters coming from the disc," said IF.

"Yes," Compa agreed. "But Dexter smashed it, so monsters won't be coming out any more. If we beat all the other monsters, everything will be back to normal again."

"About the disc …" said IF. She levelled a light glare at me. "I do expect an explanation as to how you knew about that, by the way. Anyway, how about we call it the 'Enemy Disc?' As long as these are around, we're going to keep getting monsters."

"That's not good …" said Compa.

"But it does make things easier for us," I said. "We just have to find the Enemy Discs and smash 'em to bits. If all goes well, Gamindustri should be basically monster-free in no time. Like some kinda weird, monster-based pest control."

I'm sure you're wondering why Nep wasn't getting involved in the conversation. Well …

"Mmm!" Nep hummed in delight. "Pudding after work really hits the spot! Um, you got any more, Compa?"

IF and Compa both sighed.

"Hmm?" Nep looked confused. "What's the matter? Why so serious?"

"Please don't got all Heath Ledger on us," I said to her.

"Neptune, you are by far the most absent-minded person I've ever met," said Chieko.

"Thanks!"

"That wasn't a compliment …"

"Are you kidding …?" IF sighed out. Then she looked at me. "Going back on the subject, I'm more interested in that lady. Who was she?"

"Arfoire," I said. "Not someone to be messed with, as you saw today, and she isn't even at full power. I can't say much, so for now please settle with knowing that she used to be a good guy but now she's a bad guy. I'm hoping we can reverse that, but there's a very specific point we have to wait for in order for that to happen."

"Is that really all you can tell us?"

"Yes, it is. Sorry. I'll at least tell you how I know eventually, but until we're in a situation where I can tell everyone who'll be working with us, I'm keeping it to myself."

IF sighed. "Okay … How did you do the transformation into a girl thing?"

"That is an excellent question. I don't actually know yet, myself, but I'm hoping to ask Histoire. She knows a lot about this sort of thing, so maybe she can explain it to me."

"Who's Histoire?"

"Oh! Oh! I know this one!" Nep exclaimed, raising her hand in the air like a kid in a school. "Histy is the little voice that spoke to us out of thin air and told us about seals and stuff! She mentioned the Key Fragments, too. Sounded like she was reciting important plot points."

"It looked like that Arfoire lady was after the Key Fragments, too," said Compa.

"If that's the case, then we better act quickly before she gets them."

"Yes. Let's get ready to go right away."

"Iffy, wanna come with us to collect the fragments?"

"Yeah, c'mon, IF," I said. "We get to save the world~"

IF shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Really?" said Nep. "Yay!"

"Are you sure, Iffy?" asked Compa.

"Not like I have an agenda, so I may as well tag along for the ride," said IF. "I'm not sure leaving you guys alone is a good idea, anyway."

"It'll be nice to have more people around when shit inevitably hits the fan, anyway," said Chieko. "Dexter has that effect on his surroundings."

"Come on, I'm not **that** bad!" I protested.

The others laughed while we argued.

* * *

 _ **Third Person POV**_

* * *

 ** _Unknown Location, Night_**

"Who the hell was that?" Arfoire muttered to herself angrily. The laughter had indeed stopped after a little while, but that didn't remove the humiliation she felt at letting such a trick effect her to begin with. "Tch. If I'd seen the damn thing coming ..." She could've stopped it if she'd suspected it, but it had slipped by and affected her and embarrassed her. "That bastard ... bitch ... **whatever** , is going to pay for this!"

"Oh, calm down," said a new voice, a woman's voice. "It's not like you ever stood a chance against my lovely Dexter. But to think he now has a female form ... tch, knowing him that just means he'll give me even **more** competition to slice my way through." The woman laughed derangedly. "Should be fun."

"Who's that!?" Arfoire yelled. "Show yourself!"

"If you insist." In the shadows, a pair of eyes with hearts for pupils illuminated the dark. "But don't get all hostile, now. I'm here to **help**."

* * *

 **I, admittedly, use the soundtracks of the _Persona_ games rather a lot. But hey, can you blame me? They're super convenient, they have a song for basically EVERY possible situation!**

 **So, we had a significantly more challenging fight than any I've written thus far (though the fact that I'm only used to writing small-scale fights is showing, isn't it?), and I've gone with the whole "OC becomes a CPU" thing, except Dexter changes gender when he activates it. My logic there was rather simple: in the event of a new power directly related to the world he's in suddenly appearing within him, Dexter would have to adapt to it, not the other way around. All the CPUs are female for a reason, and Dexter's body adapted so that it could use the power to its full potential. Make sense?**

 **(And yes, the mystery character I picture Rebecca Riedy voice acting for is Blue Heart. I'll probably add her to the credits during her next appearance, just to be thorough.)**

 **What do you guys think of Blue Heart, by the way? I put a lot of thought into the design, as simple as it turned out, and I'd love the feedback.**

 **And yes, Arfoire does seem to have a bigger skillset than she did in the game, but to be fair, she's meant to be a freaking GODDESS! The fact that all she really did during this fight in the game was swing her spear at shit was just disappointing, no matter how OP her attacks were. I just thought she'd be a more intimidating threat if she could do other things, is all.**

 **Yes, that was a Dragon Shout Dexter used. He's the Dragonborn in another universe.**

 **And, as you can tell from that ending, things aren't going to be quite as simple from here on in as they have been so far. That was kind of a given, anyway. This is a Multiverser story. If you don't throw a spanner in the works, there's little to no actual threat from anyone. The mystery figure at the end will become more prominent as the story goes on, just be patient.**

 **Oh, before I go, some review responses.**

 **GreenDo:** Such eloquently thought-out words. (- Sarcasm!)

 **Hero of the Multiverse:** Thanks, mate. Glad to know I'm not disappointing.

 **hetjagrr:** Oh HELL no!

 **ARSLOTHES:** If you think this is interesting, you should read the other Multiverser stories. They've been at this a lot longer than I have, so theirs are much better.

 **See you next time.**

 **(I'm probably going to be working on uploading the first chapter of my _Persona 3_ Multiverser story now that I've finished the first two chapters of this and _Vampire the Masquerade: Multiverser_. So you can expect that relatively soon.)**


End file.
